Niepoort Ladredo 2020
HK$ 500.97
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A strong peppery and herbal strike in the 2017 Ladredo prompted me to uncork a second bottle, which I found to be exactly the same. This is the Ribeira Sacra from Niepoort that was produced and bottled at Guímaro. The Ladredo vineyard contains a high percentage of Garnacha Tintorera, surely 30%, interplanted with Mencía. The old vineyards always had a field blend, but it varied depending on the place. This fermented with 100% full clusters in oak vats with native yeasts and matured in 225-liter oak barrels for 12 months. The wine changes a lot in the glass, and it's always a wild and a little funky. In a warm year like 2017, they harvested very early and managed to keep 13% alcohol, and this has a more herbal rather than floral character, with a volatile touch. This wine has a good track record for ageability, and it often shows disjointed and weird when young. I kept the open bottle and followed it for three or four days to see how it developed and to get a hint of what the wine can do in bottle. After all, it's still a question mark. 1,200 bottles were filled in November 2019.
Features
Type of wine
Pairings
Style
Occasions
Appellation
Alcohol
13.5%
Grapes
Serving
Between 16ºC and 18ºC
Winemaking
Aged for 11 months in oak barrels.
Description
Niepoort Ladredo is the result of a brave gamble by Dirk Niepoort, one of the most restless winemakers in the world of wine. Fascinated by the extreme heroic viticulture of the Ribeira Sacra, Dirk found on the vertiginous slopes of the river Sil a place where wine is not made, but pulled from the earth. With the help of Pedro Guímaro, a local reference and passionate defender of the traditional Galician vineyard, and together with other local winegrowers, he recovered the Ladredo vineyard, with old Mencía and Garnacha Tintorera vines, planted on slate and granite soils in impossible terraces. A traditional, almost monastic viticulture that reflects the soul of the place: austere, vertical and deeply Atlantic.
Winemaking
Niepoort Ladredo is harvested entirely by hand, in small boxes, in order to preserve the freshness of the grapes. Once in the winery, fermentation takes place in open vats with stems, enhancing the structure and providing tannic complexity. The wine undergoes a prolonged maceration and is then aged for 22 months in used French oak barrels, without filtering or fining, in a process that respects the expression of the terroir and the variety.
Taste
In the glass, Niepoort Ladredo shows an elegant profile, with a nose that blends fresh red fruits, sour cherry, black pepper and dried herbs. There are also notes of undergrowth, dried flowers and subtle minerality. The palate is refined, with vibrant acidity, fine tannin and airy texture. The fruit is clear but restrained, wrapped in a slender structure, with a saline and stony background that lengthens the finish. It does not seek impact, but depth and purity. Niepoort Ladredo is Galicia naked in the glass: vertical, essential and profoundly authentic.
Shipping to Hong Kong
Estimated transit time: 3 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Complete box |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 6 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 7-11 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 12 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 13-17 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 18 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 19-23 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 24 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 25-29 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 30 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 31-35 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 36 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 37-41 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 42 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 43-47 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 48 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 49-53 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 54 bottles, Free shipping! |
| 55-59 bottles | HK$ 141.87 | 60 bottles, Free shipping! |
