Vintage Port, Douro BIOMA Vinha Velha- Half Bottle ***19/20 Points-(JH) Jancis Robinson.com***

This 2015 Bioma “Vinha Velha”, Vintage Port Wine from Niepoort is a single vineyard Vintage Port from aged vines at Vinha da Pisca (mostly + 80 years old), which is cultivated organically. A hot site, which produces impressive tannins, it formed the backbone of Niepoort Vintage Ports for many years. However,the best parcels were set aside for this wine in 2013, 2011, 2009, 2008 and (known then as Pisca) in 2007. Like Niepoort Vintage Port, Bioma was 100% foot trodden with 100% stems. It was then aged in pipes (550 litre)and will be bottled in the third year after the harvest (2018) which, says Niepoort, is what happened in the “old days” when wines were shipped to England in pipes, and bottled later. Bioma is headily perfumed in the mouth with violets running through it. It’s dark and spicy, the tannins grainy – more textural – the fruit concentrated with a very fresh presence. Bioma is relatively inwardly focused as yet – it has much more to give in future years!