2021 Niepoort Napoles Bastardo, Douro, Portugal La Spinona Think passing a honeysuckle bush

Think passing a honeysuckle bush on a long springtime walk

Soil: Steep terraces of Schist with calcareous marls and clay

and quenching this wine is made for summer feasts as well as winter seafood sessions

but the wine is generous and drinkable with juicy flavors of black cherry and plum

after which point it is racked and aged six months in cement and given an additional year of rest in bottle before release

2021 Niepoort Napoles Bastardo, Douro, Portugal La Spinona Think passing a honeysuckle bushBastardo is a grape variety which can be found in the old vineyards of the Douro Valley. Known as Trousseau in the French Jura region, it is a variety which has a short growth cycle, ripens early, and is normally used for increasing sugar levels in the musts produced from grapes growing in colder areas. The idea behind this Bastardo was to try to tame the rustic character of the variety and to tease out its elegant and fresh side. Niepoort