A tense, taut, excitingly mineral and smoky white blend from the maverick genius, Dirk Niepoort. That smoky quality comes from the soil (as well as a breezy saline element), not the oak, as it’s not remotely ‘oaky’, but there are some attractive woody layers that stratify the lime and grapefruit flavours, like the feuilles of pastry in a millefeuille. It’s mainly Côdega do Larinho, plus Rabigato, Donzelinho, Cercial and other bits and bobs. Vines aged 40, 60 and 100 years on schist at 600 metres above sea level. Fermentation, malo and 12 months' ageing in big oak casks. 11.5% alc. Drink now-2032

Press review:

JancisRobinson.com (previous vintage): “Lightly spicy stone-fruit and delicate spring-blossom aromas. First impression is quite pretty but it soon shows its more mineral character. On the palate, this tastes not totally bone dry. It is balanced and the few grams of residual sugar are completely meshed. Although the fruit profile is not really Riesling, the wine as a whole reminds me of that variety, with its mix of steel and prettiness. This is a baby that needs more time but it clearly has intensity and harmony. Long, too. I kept this in the fridge and, with great restraint, continued to sip it over a period of two weeks. It became more and more impressive, developing a slight toasty/mineral reductive character with time (counter-intuitively). The development in the open bottle promises a wonderful evolution in bottle. Genius wine offering untold pleasure. VVGV (JH).” 19++ points

The Wine Advocate (previous vintage): “The white 2021 Tiara, the only white wine from granite soils in a specific (two) place in Douro, was produced with a blend of Rabigato (over 50%), Códega de Larinho, Donzelinho, Cercial and others (perhaps some Alvarinho too) from very old vines at 600 meters in altitude. It has a faintly reductive character, with minerality (the salty character of the granite) and sharpness and is straight, with the upfront feeling from the granite soils, tasty and vertical. This takes time to develop in bottle and ages quite slowly. It fermented in stainless steel and matured in foudre (1,300- to 2,500-litre ones) with full malolactic and was kept with the lees for one year.“ 94 points