Niepoort’s characterful LBV 2018


Wine landscape on the Douro © Ramiro  Pixabay

Niepoort is a well-known name, not only in the Douro region, where the company has been producing port wine since 1842. Dirk Niepoort has made it even better known through the dry Douro wines he has produced since the early 1990s, as well as through his diverse wine projects with winemakers from other countries. Two of his most famous projects are his

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Tuscan late harvest – Il Muffato

Landscape near Montepulciano © Hans Bischoff Pixabay

The most common and best-known sweet wine in Tuscany is undoubtedly Vin Santo in all its varieties. According to the production regulations for wines from the IGT Toscana (Indicazione Geografica Tipica), other sweet wines may also be produced. Either a Passito, i.e. a sweet wine made from dried grapes,

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Kracher’s Non-Vintage Noble Reserve TBA

Landscape near Illmitz © ÖWM / WSNA

The best-known Austrian noble sweet wines probably come from Rust and Seewinkel, located east of Lake Neusiedl. The climate prevailing on Lake Neusiedl particularly favors the development of Botrytis, which makes it possible to harvest grapes for Beeren- and Trockenbeerenauslese in almost all years. On the east side, the botrytis development is by a variety of

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Madeira’s Malvasia – Cândida or São Jorge?


North coast of Madeira © IVBAM

Malvasia, also called Malmsey, is probably the best known and most appreciated wine from Madeira. In earlier times it was almost exclusively made from Malvasia Cândida. However, the grape variety is very susceptible to Oidium and also somewhat capricious when it comes to its location. Probably because of this, there was already too little Malvasia wines in earlier years

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Willems-Willems’ Euchariusberg Auslese 2018

Viticulture near Krettnach Jacquesverlaeken, CC BY-SA 3.0

The vines for Saar wines thrive on or near the Saar between Serrig and Konz. 80% of the vineyards there are planted with Riesling. We tasted a Riesling Auslese Krettnacher Euchariusberg 2018 from the Willems-Willems winery. A selection of vines that are located a little higher in the side valley of Krettnach and Niedermennig and as a result thrive in cooler locations,

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Plageoles’ Vin d’Autan 2005

Tarn in Gaillac from Didier Descouens — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Gaillac is located in the center of the southwestern French wine-growing region of the same name, from which the sweet wine tasted this time comes. The wine-growing region north-west of Toulouse, on the Tarn – with 9,000 hectares of vineyards and around a third of which are appellations – is characterized above all by its often regionally autochthonous grape varieties and the range of wine styles.

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