You can get a site directory by clicking on the “hamburger” icon () in the upper right of this page.
Or you can search this site with Google (standard Google-search rules apply).
(Be aware that “sponsored” links to other sites will appear atop the actual results.)
Search term(s):
Welcome to That Useful Wine Site!
You have apparently come to this page from a link on a search engine or another site. If this is your first visit here, I much recommend that you take a few minutes to look over the introductory material accessible via the blue “Introductory” zone of the Site Menu available from the “hamburger” icon in the upper right of this (and every) page. An understanding of the purposes and principles of organization of this site will, I hope and believe, much augment your experience here, for this page and in general. You can simply click this link to get at the site front page, which, unsurprisingly, is the best place to start. Thank you for visiting.
Touriga Nacional is a red-wine grape originating in Portugal, probably in the Dão region. It is generally considered one of the dozen and a half or so of world-class red-wine grapes; in part, that derives from its use as a major grape in the making of Port, but it is also a world-class table-wine grape.
As is usually the case with Old World wines, table wines based on Touriga Nacional were rarely if ever labelled by the grape, being given regional appellation names (notably Douro and Dão); in the modern, internationalized wine world, varietal bottlings, often monovarietal, are now fairly common. Touriga Nacional has been promoted as the “national grape of Portugal”, a policy some strongly favor and others think misguided. That second view arises because, one, it draws attention away from some other fine Portugese grape types; and two, it is not clear whether Touriga Nacional works as well as a monovarietal as it does blended. The grape has been analogized to Bordeaux’s Cabernet Sauvignon, with (per Jancis Robinson) the Touriga Francesca grape playing the role of Bordeaux’s Cabernet Franc.
The Touriga Nacional grape is small, and so has a high ratio of surface to volume. Since skin contributes much to the resultant wines, Touriga Nacional tends to be dark, strong-bodied, and intense in both aroma and flavors, with high tannin levels. A quality often associated with the wines is that of flowers, most notably violets; anyone who has had a good port has experienced many of the qualities of Touriga Nacional. Touriga Nacional wines typically age very well in bottle.
Factoid: Touriga Nacional is rarely grown outside Portugal, but small plantings are appearing in some of the emerging wine regions of the U.S. such as Texas and Virginia.
“Touriga Nacional provides structure and body to wine, with high tannins and concentrated flavors of black fruit…The grapes can produce intense, very aromatic wines with high tannin content.”
“Flavor (Nose) Profile: Violets and floral notes – The aroma is so powerful that many winemakers use it very sparingly as the floral qualities can make grandma’s perfume cabinet seem restrained…Blue and Black fruits – Black berries, blueberries, dark and staining overly ripe berries! You know the smell, where the berry begins to border on liquor notes. Think fresh backyard fruit, not store bought sterile under ripe stuff! Spice – Yeah I get spices, but usually as a backdrop to the fruit and flowers. I would elude cocoa as a spice and at times the sweet flavor of allspice that seems to fade in and out as the wine develops. Flavor (palate) Profile: Fruit – Same as above but think blackberry liquor, not the sweet part, but the intense fruit quality. Actually, why don’t you throw in the seeds too, while you’re at it. Think of when you bite down on a seed and you get that wood/vegetal note. That’s the one I’m referring too! Spice – (Gabriella) From my experience with the grape, I consistently get a black pepper quality that offers that perfect dark exotic flavor that pairs well with most rich foods. It’s never overwhelming to me, nor does it take precedent over the floral notes, but it always seems to creep up, especially on the nose! Flowers – I don’t make it a practice to munch on flowers, but I will say that the way in which new flowers smell sweet, almost fruit like, is the exact floral note I get. I remember as a child there was a flower that grew in the fields of the park by our house. I forget the name, but if you snapped off a flower and bit into it, a small but intense sweetness filled your mouth…Texture – This wine can be quite large with an overwhelming body. The positive side is that the tannins tend to be very fine. Almost chalky but with a nice acidity to freshen the mouth.”
“Characteristics of the grape: medium to full-bodied, bright ruby to dark purple, strong tannins, bright acidity. Still wines: dark cherry, blackberry, red plum, earth, espresso, tobacco, dark chocolate, black pepper, black tea, violets. Port wines: blueberries, blackberries, figs, dates, toffee, almonds, cashews, cocoa, milk chocolate, burnt sugar, violets.”
“Touriga Nacional yields inky, full-bodied, powerful wines with exceptionally complex aromas. It frequently shows blackberry, blueberry, rock rose and rosemary notes.”
“In many ways, Touriga Nacional is Portugal’s answer to France’s Cabernet Sauvignon. Both varieties display bold dark-fruit flavors, often with hints of spice, leather and violet. Like Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga Nacional has firm tannins, is expressive as a varietal wine and shows great aging potential. As a blend though, it really comes into its own.”
“Touriga Nacional has a thick skin and small clusters of berries which help to contribute to the colorful and tannic wine it creates. In addition to the flowers, tannins and extract the Touriga Nacional brings to the Port table, the grape is an integral part of the blends of still red wine found in both the Duoro and Dão valleys, producing wines that are heavy in both red fruits and structure.”
“As well as making port, touriga nacional is now also grown to produce extremely concentrated, dark, tannic table wines both in the Douro Valley and elsewhere in Portugal, notably Dão. In the same way that cabernet sauvignon is softened by blending with another grape, touriga can be partnered with local versions of tempranillo.”
“Small: Violet, Very floral, Blackberry, Blueberry, Black pepper, Fresh earth, Mulberry, Plum, Dried fruits. Taste: Dry. Feel: Moderate to high acidity levels; Moderate to high alcohol levels (13% - 14.5%); Tannins abound. In the best Touriga Nacional wines, the high acidity offsets the tannins, resulting in a well-balanced wine.”
“Touriga Nacional tends to be a smaller berry with thicker skin, bringing dark fruit character, floral aromatics and contributing plenty of sturdy structure via a heavy dose of tannin, acidity and phenomenal extract while also adding complexity, intensity and longevity to a finished wine.”
) in the upper right of this page.
Some Descriptions of Touriga Nacional Wines
“Touriga Nacional provides structure and body to wine, with high tannins and concentrated flavors of black fruit…The grapes can produce intense, very aromatic wines with high tannin content.”
“Flavor (Nose) Profile: Violets and floral notes – The aroma is so powerful that many winemakers use it very sparingly as the floral qualities can make grandma’s perfume cabinet seem restrained…Blue and Black fruits – Black berries, blueberries, dark and staining overly ripe berries! You know the smell, where the berry begins to border on liquor notes. Think fresh backyard fruit, not store bought sterile under ripe stuff! Spice – Yeah I get spices, but usually as a backdrop to the fruit and flowers. I would elude cocoa as a spice and at times the sweet flavor of allspice that seems to fade in and out as the wine develops. Flavor (palate) Profile: Fruit – Same as above but think blackberry liquor, not the sweet part, but the intense fruit quality. Actually, why don’t you throw in the seeds too, while you’re at it. Think of when you bite down on a seed and you get that wood/vegetal note. That’s the one I’m referring too! Spice – (Gabriella) From my experience with the grape, I consistently get a black pepper quality that offers that perfect dark exotic flavor that pairs well with most rich foods. It’s never overwhelming to me, nor does it take precedent over the floral notes, but it always seems to creep up, especially on the nose! Flowers – I don’t make it a practice to munch on flowers, but I will say that the way in which new flowers smell sweet, almost fruit like, is the exact floral note I get. I remember as a child there was a flower that grew in the fields of the park by our house. I forget the name, but if you snapped off a flower and bit into it, a small but intense sweetness filled your mouth…Texture – This wine can be quite large with an overwhelming body. The positive side is that the tannins tend to be very fine. Almost chalky but with a nice acidity to freshen the mouth.”
“Characteristics of the grape: medium to full-bodied, bright ruby to dark purple, strong tannins, bright acidity. Still wines: dark cherry, blackberry, red plum, earth, espresso, tobacco, dark chocolate, black pepper, black tea, violets. Port wines: blueberries, blackberries, figs, dates, toffee, almonds, cashews, cocoa, milk chocolate, burnt sugar, violets.”
“Touriga Nacional yields inky, full-bodied, powerful wines with exceptionally complex aromas. It frequently shows blackberry, blueberry, rock rose and rosemary notes.”
“In many ways, Touriga Nacional is Portugal’s answer to France’s Cabernet Sauvignon. Both varieties display bold dark-fruit flavors, often with hints of spice, leather and violet. Like Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga Nacional has firm tannins, is expressive as a varietal wine and shows great aging potential. As a blend though, it really comes into its own.”
“Touriga Nacional has a thick skin and small clusters of berries which help to contribute to the colorful and tannic wine it creates. In addition to the flowers, tannins and extract the Touriga Nacional brings to the Port table, the grape is an integral part of the blends of still red wine found in both the Duoro and Dão valleys, producing wines that are heavy in both red fruits and structure.”
“As well as making port, touriga nacional is now also grown to produce extremely concentrated, dark, tannic table wines both in the Douro Valley and elsewhere in Portugal, notably Dão. In the same way that cabernet sauvignon is softened by blending with another grape, touriga can be partnered with local versions of tempranillo.”
“Small: Violet, Very floral, Blackberry, Blueberry, Black pepper, Fresh earth, Mulberry, Plum, Dried fruits. Taste: Dry. Feel: Moderate to high acidity levels; Moderate to high alcohol levels (13% - 14.5%); Tannins abound. In the best Touriga Nacional wines, the high acidity offsets the tannins, resulting in a well-balanced wine.”
“Touriga Nacional tends to be a smaller berry with thicker skin, bringing dark fruit character, floral aromatics and contributing plenty of sturdy structure via a heavy dose of tannin, acidity and phenomenal extract while also adding complexity, intensity and longevity to a finished wine.”