Secondum
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2032
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, dark chocolate fondant, roasted venison
✨ Technical Specifications
Niepoort's Secundum (often spelled Secondum) represents a deliberate and innovative stylistic choice by Dirk Niepoort to craft a Vintage Port that is highly approachable and expressive in its youth, without sacrificing the legendary longevity of the house's classic bottlings. Sourced from ancient, low-yielding field blend vineyards in the heart of the Cima Corgo, the grapes—including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Roriz—are traditional foot-trodden in granite lagares. This ancient method ensures gentle extraction of deep color and velvety tannins. The wine is aged in large wooden vats in the historic cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia. It weaves a rich narrative of dark plum, wild berries, and schist-driven minerality, offering a voluptuous, softer alternative to the formidable classic Niepoort Vintage Port.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1842 by Franciscus Marius van der Niepoort, Niepoort has evolved from a venerable family-run Port shipper into one of the most visionary and influential forces in Portuguese viticulture. Guided by fifth-generation iconoclast Dirk Niepoort alongside his son Daniel, the estate has redefined Douro winemaking by championing terroir-driven, lower-alcohol dry table wines alongside monumental fortified expressions. Sourcing fruit from steep, schistose terraces in the Cima Corgo as well as granitic and clay-limestone soils across Dão, Bairrada, Vinho Verde, and the volcanic slopes of Pico, viticulture prioritizes biodiversity, old field blends, and biodynamic principles. Winemaking emphasizes minimal cellar intervention, whole-bunch fermentations, and traditional foot-treading in granite lagares. Celebrated benchmarks span legendary, ethereal Colheitas and Vintage Ports to nuanced dry still icons such as Redoma, Batuta, Charme, and Quinta de Baixo’s Gonçalves Faria, all defined by remarkable mineral tension, textural finesse, and age-worthy elegance.
🍇 Grapes
Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão