1997 Niepoort LBV port

Bman,
I feel like I've found a soul mate. I drink port and blue cheese when watching rugby. Generally a cheaper port (often Australian) but really enjoy the combination when watching a good game of Rugby.

Don't you think it's a bit young?

Unfortunately, I don't see much Niepoort in these parts; last I knew, the only distributor in WA that handled it was in Spokane. I will likely be there &/or OR before the end of the year, though. It will probably be about the same number of US$ here.

Is it filtered? Bottled in 2001?

blobby:

I don't think it was young. LBV's are as good as they'll ever be out of the bottle. now the vintage 97s: I have a niepoort 97 I got from mail order. I'll attempt it about 2010 or so..I'm like my birth year ports right now- the '63s. yum.

Thanks for the rec. bman, I've seen this around so will give it a try. I saw a '63 Nieport Colheita today for $119, ohhh that's tough to pass up.

It's bottled in 2001. Don't know for sure if it's filtered but I'd guess not, since it says it's done in traditional style. In fact, a TN in the catalogue said it can be enjoyed now bu would benefit from a couple of year's cellaring. Most of what I've read about LBVs says they will not further develop. In any case, I intend to buy a few more bottles of this, as I liked it a lot, but I've liked LBVs before, for a few bottles, then gotten bored with them after a while and gone lookinig fo something different (who's a dilletante?! )

You can check out the catalogue reference here:

http://www.vintages.com/circular/current/fortified277.html#prt2

"Traditional" should mean that that it's not filtered or fined & should improve with some bottle aging. Most of the LBVs that I've seen will also have a back label that will tell whether or not it's filtered/fined; or at least whether or not it requires decanting & will improve with age, which tells you the same thing.

(The " ", as Bman knows, is because he tends to question my drinking some Vintage Ports at a younger age.)

I bought another '92 Warre's Traditional LBV today, which I think is in prime time for drinking.

Tomorrow or so we'll talk about a couple more '85s...& a '97...

Niepoort LBVs…..hmmmm, tasty! I was thinking about opening either the ’97 or the Warre ’92 this week. I have to agree, for QPR the Niepoorts can’t be beat. They keep very well, also. This year I’ve had the ’94, ’96 and ’97, and they’re all thoroughly enjoyable, with enough backbone to keep for some more years.

Does anyone of you ever had a LBV with more than 15 years of bottle age? I saw a bottle of ’69 Warre for sale…go or no go?

Blobby, looking forward to your notes!

Well,
it's not 15, it's 14 but my Niepoort '88 LBV was drinking beautifully a couple of months ago, and I still have a few more bottles .

I had a 1982 Offley (I think it was) or maybe Warre LBV last year and it seemed soul-less to me, but maybe that's what it was when first released. Though of course we drank it all....

blobby: I just checked the Niepoort bottle and there is no mention of tradional, though it says "tinto doce" on the back, which is followed by several lines in Portuguese (I presume). Niepoort bottles, with the writing etched into the bottle rather than on paper labels, are an interesting curiosity......

It is indeed Portuguese, mr. Holmes , about throwing deposit with age; a bit like the English text on the vintage bottles. Did you notice the spelling mistake on the English back label? I wonder why they don’t correct it; it has been on the bottles from at least ’77.

BTW: not all Niepoort bottles are etched. The ’78 Vintage has a paper label, and it just doesn’t look right.

I thought I had put away a bottle of the fine '82 Warre's LBV, but apparently not. I have one '86, but only because it's as bad as '85 Burmester (tasted 3 times with consistent notes, followed by retching & dumping) & I'm not quite ready to just dump it.

I did put away 3 of '90 Offley Traditional LBV, since it was quite good. We'll see in a couple years or so.

I would be skeptical of '69 Warre's LBV, given the vintage and age. If it were $12, I might try it, as I did some '79 Messias Cachao vintage several years ago .

I think I posted TN on '92 Warre's LBV a while back, but don't know if they're still around.