We met up recently with winemaker, Daniel Niepoort, and he recounted how, when he started working at the family domaine in 2020, he was told that they were thrilled to have him on board, representing the 6th generation of the family, but only on the condition that he didn’t make any new wines, because the Niepoort portfolio was already bursting at the seams. On his first holiday, he went to see a friend in the Azores and returned two weeks later with the news that he had agreed to make a new wine and here is the result!

This ultra-volcanic white, from windswept, walled vineyards on Pico Island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, opens with zesty lime, sour nectarine and white talc on the nose, while the palate reveals a vibrant mix of citrus and stone fruits, layered with salt flakes, white flowers, star anise and a subtle nuttiness. A profoundly 'mineral' wine with great complexity. 12% alc. 40% Terrantez do Pico 30% Arinto dos Azores and 30% Verdelho. Drink now-2030.

NB If you haven’t seen the incredible walled vineyards of Pico Island, do please Google ‘Pico Island Vines’ and marvel at what is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Press review:

The Wine Advocate: “I tasted the bottled 2023 DO Pico that I tasted unbottled last year. The wine has settled and is showing quite well: the reduction has disappeared and the wine is clean, precise and chiseled. It was produced with grapes from another zone, San Mateus, and not from Tito's vineyards. In the south of the island, the vineyards are very close to the mountains, and the ripeness is more contained. The grapes ripen later, the sugar is lower and the acidity is higher. 2023 was a rainy year in the south of Pico, with more problems for Verdelho and Terrantez, but the grapes were picked earlier, and the wines are fresher. The Arinto balances things with a little more volume and mid-palate. It has contained ripeness and 12% alcohol (as stated on the label), a fresh and vibrant palate with stony minerality and a marine sensation in the finish. Drink now-2032.“ 93+ points