2012 Ladredo

The 2012 Ladredo is produced by Niepoort from Douro/Porto in Portugal from a vineyards in Ribeira Sacra called Ladredo belonging to the Rodríguez family of Guímaro. It’s one vineyard planted after 1940 with mixed red varieties in the Amandi sub-zone, with a significant proportion of Garnacha Tintorera (around 30%) and the rest Mencía and some other small quantities of other grapes. 40% of the full clusters and the rest of the un-crushed grapes fermented in a 2,000-liter oak vat (the same one since the initial vintage of 2008) and aged in used barrels without racking. They harvest very early with the objective to have 12-12.5% alcohol. It has an incredible balsamic nose with notes of aromatic herbs, black pepper, blue fruit and some malt notes intermixed with flowers and a special meaty character. Temperature-wise 2012 was a normal vintage in Ribeira Sacra, and the wine is medium-bodied with very fine tannins and good acidity. It feels like a wine that is gaining precision and losing a little bit of its rusticity with each new vintage. 1,400 bottles produced.