Trudy The True Ruby
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2028
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Dark chocolate desserts, blue cheese, berry tarts
✨ Technical Specifications
Niepoort's 'Trudy' The True Ruby Port is a vibrant tribute to the classic, fruit-driven style of traditional Ruby Port. Sourced from old vineyards in the Cima Corgo region of the Douro Valley, where vines struggle in rugged schist soils, this wine is a field blend of indigenous grapes including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Roriz. To preserve its youthful energy and intense primary fruit aromas, the wine is aged for an average of three years in large wooden vats, or balseiros, minimizing oxidation. The character of 'Trudy' is playful yet deeply rooted in Douro tradition, offering a fresh, robust profile dominated by dark cherries, plums, and a touch of spice, representing the 'true' essence of an unaged, expressive Ruby 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