Niepoort Dao Rotulo Tinto

Niepoort Dao Rotulo Tinto is a red wine produced in the Dao wine-growing region of Portugal. It was first released in 2012 and has since been joined by a white wine and a Touriga Nacional.

Niepoort are most famous as Port producers, shippers and wine producers in the Douro but, in recent years Dirk has been looking to areas outside of his traditional domain and has been making wines in other wine regions. This has seen the creation of such wines as Niepoort Doda, a Douro Dao blend, and his Spanish collaboration Navazos Niepoort. Niepoort Rotulo Tinto comes from the Dao wine growing region in the Dao-Lafoes sub region of Centro which, as the name suggests is in central Portugal.

The Niepoort Dao Rotulo Tinto first came into being with the 2012 vintage. Niepoort sought out parcels of vines, some of them very old, that would express the unique character of the Dao region with it high altitude microclimate (500m above sea level) and granitic soils. Since then Niepoort has acquired Quinta da Lomba, originally to save 5 hectares of vines over 60 years, and has been acquiring vineyard blocks, including some very old sites,  which express the unique character of the region. The the vineyards and the winery are located at the entrance of the city of Gouveia at the foot of the Serra da Estrela. Quinta da Lomba is being developed as Niepoort’s Central hub for all their Biodynamic development projects.

The grapes for Niepoort Dao Rotulo Tinto were hand harvested in mid-September from vines with an average age of thirty to sixty years old. The main grape varieties used are Alfrocheiro, Jaen (typical of the region), Tinta Pinheira and Touriga Nacional. The wine is vinified in stainless steel and then aged for 12 months in cement vats. Niepoort Rotulo Tinto is bottled with minimal filtering. The result is a light, fresh red wine typical of the Dao region with a traditional profile, very fresh, light, gastronomic and that can be appreciated at any occasion.

Around 8000 bottles per vintage.