2007 Batuta Tinto

The 2007 BATUTA is a typical Douro blend (Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and others) of grapes and old vine (70-100 years) vineyards aged for 20 months in French oak. There were 13,720 bottles produced, although only 25 cases were imported. As with most of Niepoort’s wines, especially in this vintage, this is elegant and bright, more focused on being graceful than big, and beautifully balanced. Classy and subtle in some respects, it still has plenty of power this year, though, and it is quite tight and rather tannic on the finish at the moment. That said, while this is a very nice Batuta, I’m not sure I see the complexity I’ve lauded here before. For one thing, it is too well nuanced with oak at the moment and showing little more. With some age and opportunity to integrate the oak with the rest of the wine, this will settle down and show better, and its fine performance the next day gave me some basis for saying that, but for now, my pick of the litter in this vintage is the Redoma. Drink 2011-2022. In the right years, Niepoort is a top producer in the Douro, for both white and red, which not many can say. His wines are imported, but not in large quantities, which may be related to the relatively high price points. In his lineup this year, the Tiara and regular Redoma Branco are the sweet spots for bang for the buck. Importer: Martine’s Wines, Inc., Novato, CA.; tel: (415) 883-0400; except in New York/New Jersey: Eric Solomon, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565.