Niepoort Charme Tinto 2024 - Sofisticação e elegância de inspiração borgonhesa.

Niepoort Charme Tinto 2024 is a benchmark red from the Douro Demarcated Region, made by the iconic Niepoort winery under winemaker Dirk Niepoort. It is a top-tier wine focused on the utmost elegance and complexity, strongly inspired by Burgundy (Pinot Noir) and in contrast to the traditionally robust, full-bodied Douro style.

The Wine Advocate
RP 98

Critic: Luis Gutiérrez

The 2024 Charme was very closed in the glass at first. It's one of the first reds to be bottled — only this and the 2024 Turris were bottled in February 2026 — and it is still very young, with all the exuberance of youth, showing a juicy, fruity profile. It needed a long time in the glass to open; I also tasted a bottle opened the day before and the wine had barely moved. The real indicator of its potential is the elegance of the palate, silky and velvety, very much in line with the 2023 Charme. It is floral, herbal, perfumed and elegant, delicately structured and perfectly balanced. I think this is the best Charme produced to date, alongside the extraordinary 2021. 12,800 bottles were produced. It was bottled in February 2026.

I tasted these wines with Luis Pedro Silva, Niepoort's young winemaker in charge of the Douro wines. Most samples were from the 2024 vintage, a less hot year with abundant vegetation and high yields. There was enough rain and the vines behaved as if irrigated. However, the hot summer meant the plants suffered from excess foliage and a heavy crop, making it hard both to ripen the bunches and to keep the leaves green.

The harvest was very rainy and lasted longer than usual, which ended up benefiting the still wines, as alcohol levels stayed moderate and the wines kept excellent freshness. These conditions were initially positive for the Douro wines but unfavourable for Port. However, the rain reactivated the vines' growth cycle, allowing the grapes destined for Port to reach proper ripeness too.

The 2024 still wines are low in alcohol and seem to be gaining substance over time. The reds stand out for their very floral character, though they may be less vibrant than the 2023s. The whites are similar to 2023 but slightly rounder. About half the reds tasted were from 2023, a cooler vintage than 2022 and quite similar to 2021. Both 2023 and 2024 produced wines that are very approachable early on.

In 2025 rain was abundant for practically the whole year, making vineyard work particularly demanding. Yields were small and the grapes showed great concentration. After the harvest it continued to rain persistently, far more than desirable.

I tasted the Ports with Nick Delaforce, the winemaker in charge of the Vale de Mendiz winery, where Niepoort's Ports are made. The house is releasing several vintages across various categories, but the big highlight is the new 2024 Vintage Port, the first general declaration since 2022, as most producers did not declare a Vintage in 2023. Niepoort's portfolio is the reverse of most large producers: around 60% special categories and 40% entry-level wines, when it is usually exactly the opposite. The remainder of the 1976 Colheita, a truly magical wine, was also bottled.

Published: 16 April 2026