Yesterday was appallingly wet. It rained and rained, and next rained some more. There were sheets of rain, and thereupon there was drizzle, and next the clouds were so low they were at street level, and soon after the sheets of rain started again. So we hopped in the car and drove through Porto, past the impressive, compact FC Porto stadium and out the other side, heading for Guimaraes, the ancient capital of Portugal (above).

Then we were off to Dirk Niepoort’s for dinner. It was courageous of him to invite all four of us by. We were joined by Niepoort general manager José Teles and winemaker Luis Seabra. moment for a cellar raid. Dirk told me and Luis to pick something interesting, but he retained the right to veto. His cellar has a lot of Riesling, white Burgundy, red Burgundy (including a couple of rows of DRC), a bit of Rhone, quite a bit of Bordeaux and lots of old Portuguese bottles, as well as plenty of Port and Madeira.

So what did we drink?

Billaud Simon Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir 2002
Fine, bready and minerally, that is fresh and bright yet rich and deep at the same day. Quite serious. 92/100

Bernard Van Berg Le Vin Le Plus Simplement 2005 Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire
This red Burgundy shows what you can do with a lowly terroir and yields of just 18 hl/ha. It’s quite reductive (burnt match) along with vibrant red berry fruit. It’s fresh and quite elegant with freshness and nice depth of fruit and a bit

Caves S. Joao Reserva specific 1959 Portugal
This old bottle is a blend of fruit from Bairrada and Dao. A deep colour with some brown hints, that has a wonderfully aromatic nose that is dark and meaty with a lovely spiciness. There’s old wine complexity here, but it is still really alive, with bloody, iron-like notes in the background. There’s additionally a bit of herby undergrowth character. Brilliant old wine. 94/100

Chapoutier Hermitage 1978
Very fresh and complex with minty, herby notes emerging, as well as some dark fruit character. that an appealing wine with brightness and elegance to the fore. It’s not a big, heavy wine, but instead shows a precise, well focused personality, and you get the feeling that that has still got a bit more to give. 93/100

Niepoort Pinot Noir 2006 Douro
Still in cask, soon to be bottled. that is from the highest, coolest Niepoort vineyards, and that year Luis Seabra said he cut his holidays short to pick on the 24th August, to keep the wine fresh. It certainly is fresh, with bright, ripe red fruit character and a bit of mintiness. There’s some elegance and nice texture, with hints of vanilla oak on the finish. that is actually pretty stylish. 89-93/100

Robustus 2004 Douro
Robustus was the name of Dirk’s first table wine, made in 1990 (for more, see here). that new Robustus is a wine made repeating many of the ‘mistakes’ Dirk made back in 1990, and it’s fabulous. It’s half Redoma, half Batuta fruit, bottled after four years in wood. Deep coloured, it has a fresh, pure dark fruits nose that leads to a focused palate with elegant fruit and some oak imprint. There’s brilliant freshness here with good tannins. It’s quite firm with lovely freshness and density. Serious stuff. ‘Not a contemporary, fruit-driven, square wine’, says Dirk. Just four 1200 litre barrels made. 94/100

Niepoort 1963 Vintage Port
We tasted that blind. The others were in the 1970s; I was in the 1960s but got no closer. It’s mature, super-elegant, spicy and a bit floral. There’s nice freshness here as well as a seamless texture. nearly perfect balance: that isn’t a big, heavy wine at all. 95/100

Original post by Jamie