2005 Charme Tinto

I first tasted this wine during the Bordeaux 2005 primeurs tastings when Dirk Niepoort poured the wine at the end of a tasting at Cos d’Estournel. I remember being enchanted by it and this time, poured from magnum, was equally special. The only way I can describe it is as a ‘double Pinot’ – ie with some Pinot Noir characteristics but like two wines laid on top of each other, like a double layer of silk – firmer and deeper than a single layer but with the same silky elegance. Mainly 70 and 100 year old Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, harvested early September to avoid high alcohol and retain acidity. Includes 100% stems to reduce the dominance of fruit since the aim is elegance. Fermented in granite lagares and casks and aged 16 months in French casks. Wonderfully aromatic gentle red fruit, especially on the mid palate. Soft, silky and long. Finesse incarnate. Double layer Pinot-like silk.  (JH)

The 2005 CHARME is Niepoort’s Burgundy ringer. There were only 15 cases imported of 225 produced. Note that the suggested retail price of Charme is less than Batuta here, but according to the importer, this is simply due to exchange rate fluctuations. I was not impressed with this when I tasted it in Portugal in mid-2007, as it seemed rather simple and short, but this was a particularly disappointing surprise when I retasted it in the USA. The first two bottles I opened simply reeked. My best guess was that this was attributable to reductive aromas. The wine had a "burnt match" smell, a term the winemaker later used as well when this was retasted in Lisbon with him a few months later. It was hard to get much fruit, and the wine was very reticent and light. Held open for hours and retasted the next day, it went nowhere. The second bottle was similar, and on Day 2, it seemed thin, a bit tart and entirely routine, always with some funk remaining, although that moderated somewhat overnight. The bottle later tasted in Lisbon had also been open overnight, at which point there were still nuances of the funk as well (although not as bad as the bottles showed when freshly opened). Finally, I opened another in the USA, and the wine remained rather unassuming, and still with an overlay of that "burnt match" smell. It seems too short and too understated. I suspect few will be impressed given its price and status. The score is based on the last bottle tasted (of 5, in the Douro, USA, Lisbon and again the USA). Drink now-2015. Niepoort is one of the Douro’s iconic estates. In most vintages, Niepoort produces rather elegant wines, with a nod to Burgundy. In 2005, a vintage that produced lighter red wines in the first place, Niepoort’s lineup is very understated. The VERTENTE line’s first release was 2000. It is a more modestly priced entrant in Niepoort’s lineup compared to the well known trophies like Batuta and Charme. Importer: Martine’s Wines, Inc., Novato, CA.; tel: (415) 883-0400; except in New York/New Jersey: Eric Solomon, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565.