The frame of Dirk Niepoort's Douro picture is in fact the ‘estate wine’. The crop of mixed plantations, mostly Tinta Amarena and Touriga Franca from 50-80-year-old vines. It’s a masterful interpretation of the intensely luscious, dark-flavoured grape varieties of the Douro: no jam, no bitter heaviness, but a vividly fruity, complex and elegant wine. The texture of the palate, the chalky tannins, would deserve a study by themselves. A memorable encounter of the special soil, the high-altitude plots and old vines.