Niepoort Douro Charme Tinto 2016

Niepoort Douro Charme Tinto 2016

The 2016 Charme is a field blend, heavy on Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca (especially Tinta Roriz), aged for 15 months in used French oak. It comes in at 13.5% alcohol. Soft, smooth and lacking much in energy, this is an understated Charme. To some extent, that's always true, but it seems even truer here. It was in bottle for about three months, and it had a reasonable amount of air. Laid-back and approachable young, this is easy to like, but I'm not sure it is a great Charme. The 2015 seemed well ahead of it, granting that I did not have them together. If this proves its case, it likely will be through complexity.