The Generic Vinho Verde Tasting was recently held in London and I was seriously annoyed to miss it due to other obligations. It’s always such a fun tasting as well as eye opening. So Enroute to South Africa for a weekend of festivities, I was thrilled to stumble across the Projecto de Dirk Niepoort Vinho Verde at Heathrow Terminal 5, made specially for Fortnum & Mason. 

Fortnum & Mason Niepoort Loureiro Vinho Verde 2015, 11 Abv.

Beautifully fragrant nose evocative of summer flowers, orchard fruits, waxy green apples, incense and wet chalk. Palate is crisp, vibrant and linear but also impressively dense, intense and pure fruited. There is a wonderful glassy, crystalline acidity, green apple zest, a hint of lime peel and a crunchy green pear finish. Plenty of wet river pebble minerality and aromatic zip. Somehow Dirk Niepoort conjures up a wine that is both serious and frivolous all at the same time, but undoubtedly thoroughly refreshing and moreish. The wizard of Portuguese fine wine does it again! Bravo Dirk.

(Wine Safari Score: 90/100 Greg Sherwood MW)