1987 Niepoort Garrafeira
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Tasting notes
The 1987 Porto Garrafeira was bottled the same day as the 1983 (in 2018), but this wine had a lot shorter time in barrel. It was put in glass demijohn in 1991 (even before the 1983) and has the reductive glass character that, to me, describes this category. It has the best of both worlds, the Ruby and the Tawny worlds. It has the cherries in liqueur, the flowers, some nuttiness, spice, smoke and moderate volatility. My experience with this style is that the wines improve in bottle for a very long time, and this is definitely still too young and undeveloped; it would be a shame to open a bottle any time soon. It has power and elegance. An amazing wine, definitely world-class and unique, it has the floral, Burgundian character and purity I expect from this wine. They filled some 3,200 bottles. But they still have more demijohns to make a second or third bottling in the future.
Critic scores
Average Score
Alistair Cooper MW, jancisrobinson.com
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Pale amber. An utterly enticing nose showing development, dried tobacco leaves with a Tabasco-spiced note and dried Medjool dates. A layered, effortless and soft palate with caramel, dried herbs, pepper, dates and cinnamon and a pepper-tinged finish. The palate is fascinating – different to other Ports and shows such gentleness and voluptuousness but still a powerful wine – the sweetness is so balanced and integrated on the long finish. Brilliant. (AC)