Niepoort Coche Branco Douro DOC 2023

The "Coche' is nothing less than Dirk Niepoort's homage to the famous Coche-Dury house in Burgundy and its pioneering Chardonnay style. However, the "Coche' Branco 2023 is not a Chardonnay, as it would be impossible to elevate it to Grand Cru level in the Douro Valley. Instead, the indigenous varieties Rabigato, Códega do Larinho and Arinto, which come from old plots, are used here. The wine is aged reductively in the best barrels with special toasting and 30% new wood. It is spicy, smoky and characterised by flint. There are also notes of lemon, orange, stone fruit and pome fruit, white flowers, cold ash and herbal infusion. On the palate, the wine is dense, fresh, intense, precise and extremely long and grippy. A great white Douro wine!