The Niepoort family, originally from the Netherlands, has been creating Port Wines since 1842 and established themselves as one of the most respectable Port Houses.

Dirk Niepoort, fifth generation, runs the firm with a dedication and enthusiasm that has made him one of the most popular figures in the wine trade, and quickly became a trailblazer of table wines in Portugal with his projects focused on Terroir, elegance and the relentless pursuit of freshness. Dirk helped transform the Douro region and the way the world thinks about wine, with wines transcending the heat and displaying astounding craft and elegance.

His vision has striven to improve the company on all aspects: the vineyards were upgraded in sustainability (notably most are farmed organically, without any pesticides and herbicides) and the winery completely revamped. As for the grape crushing, Dirk is a passionate advocate of the traditional method of ‘treading’ (by foot) to extract maximum colour and flavour. These efforts resulted in magnificent examples from recent years.

Dirk Niepoort deserves the accolades he receives for his hard work, dedication and wonderful craft which propelled him to be one of the most reverred in Portugal and a world wine legend, elevating not only Port but Portugal’s dry wines.

Ladredo is the name of a little old vineyard, aged about 50 years, facing east and perched precipitously over the River Sil. It has such a steep slope that the grape harvest is a near Herculean task. This vineyard has two co-existing varieties: Mencía (called Jaen in Portugal) and Alicante Bouschet. They account for 65% and 35%, respectively, of the batch. The idea was to make a fine wine with the characteristic freshness of the region.

The grapes for the wine Ladredo were harvested by hand on 15 September. The alcoholic fermentation took place in a wood open vat, with about 100% of stems. The wine remained in vat along with the grape skins for 2 months and then aged in 228 liters French oak barrels 22 months this wine was bottled without filtering.

Soil type – Schist

Grape – Mencía,Garnacha and Alicante Bouschet

Age – over 50 years

Residual Sugar – 1.7 g/L

Alcohol – 12.7 %

This Mencía stems from the Ribeira Sacra region and distinguishes itself through its character and liveliness. It is a structured, elegant, crisp and deeply complex wine. The nose presents aromas of tobacco, red berry fruit, a touch of mint which brings liveliness, floral hints as well as spices like pepper and nutmeg. The palate is at the same time elegant and structured. A long and persistent finish supported by an outstanding acidity promise a long future ahead for this Ladredo.

Steak au poivre, red meat, meat stew, wild mushrooms, truffle.

Wine Advocate – 96 points

I tasted the bottled 2018 Ladredo, which I had tasted from barrel before it was bottled, and it has delivered all that it promised. Produced with the grapes from one of the best vintages in recent times, it has a bright ruby color and a perfumed and tantalizing nose of violets and aromatic plants. The label reads 12.5% alcohol, which translates to medium ripeness, lively flavors of acid berries, fine spices and very elegant and polished tannins. This should continue developing nicely in bottle. 1,200 bottles.

Niepoort from Portugal produces one red in Ribeira Sacra with the help of Guímaro.