Touriga Nacional
Encyclopedia
Touriga Nacional is a variety of red wine grape, considered by many to be Portugal's finest. Despite the low yields from its small grapes, it plays a big part in the blends used for ports
, and is increasingly being used for table wine
in the Douro and Dão
. Touriga Nacional provides structure and body to wine, with high tannins and concentrated flavors of black fruit. Jancis Robinson
has compared its relationship with Touriga Francesa
to the partnership between Cabernet Sauvignon
and Cabernet Franc
, the former providing structure, the latter filling out the bouquet.
y vineyards that are more rock than soil. The alternative name of Mortágua pays tribute to these harsh conditions. It is usually trained under one of the Guyot systems, and needs severe pruning to keep it under control. In contrast, the vine produces just a few bunches of blue-black grapes which vary in size from 'small' to 'tiny'. Thus yield
s are among the lowest of any commercial grape variety. In recent years, scientists have been working on cloning the Touriga Nacional to produce vines that are able to pollinate better with the goal of increasing yields by 15% and sugar content by 10%.
s.
Traditionally a lot of US wine was fortified, and many of the producers of such 'port' have experimented with using Portuguese grapes as a way to improve their product. 553 tons of Touriga were crushed in 2006, up 26% on the previous year. In the Texas Hill Country AVA
, winery Torre di Pietra produces a Touriga Nacional varietal on a limited basis.
Port wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
, and is increasingly being used for table wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
in the Douro and Dão
Vinho do Dão
Dão is a Portuguese wine region situated in the Região Demarcada do Dão with the Dão-Lafões sub region of the Centro, Portugal. It is one of the oldest established wine regions in Portugal. Dão wine is produced in a mountainous region with a temperate climate, in the area of the Rio Mondego and Dão...
. Touriga Nacional provides structure and body to wine, with high tannins and concentrated flavors of black fruit. Jancis Robinson
Jancis Robinson
Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...
has compared its relationship with Touriga Francesa
Touriga Francesa
Touriga Franca is one of the major grape varieties used to produce port wine. Touriga Franca is lighter and more perfumed than Touriga Nacional, adding finesse to the wine. Touriga Franca has been described by Jancis Robinson as playing "Cabernet Franc to Touriga Nacional’s Cabernet Sauvignon"...
to the partnership between Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
and Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
, the former providing structure, the latter filling out the bouquet.
Viticulture
The vine is very vigorous, and good results depend on keeping it in check. In the Douro it is grown in searing heat in steep schistSchist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
y vineyards that are more rock than soil. The alternative name of Mortágua pays tribute to these harsh conditions. It is usually trained under one of the Guyot systems, and needs severe pruning to keep it under control. In contrast, the vine produces just a few bunches of blue-black grapes which vary in size from 'small' to 'tiny'. Thus yield
Yield (wine)
In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...
s are among the lowest of any commercial grape variety. In recent years, scientists have been working on cloning the Touriga Nacional to produce vines that are able to pollinate better with the goal of increasing yields by 15% and sugar content by 10%.
Wine regions
In the late 1990s there were 2,760 hectares of Touriga Nacional in Portugal. Its poor yields mean that it represents a tiny part of the wine production in the Douro, but it plays a major part in the blends of the best portPort wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
s.
Traditionally a lot of US wine was fortified, and many of the producers of such 'port' have experimented with using Portuguese grapes as a way to improve their product. 553 tons of Touriga were crushed in 2006, up 26% on the previous year. In the Texas Hill Country AVA
Texas Hill Country AVA
The Texas Hill Country AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio and west of Austin, Texas. The appellation is the second largest American Viticultural Area, and covers an area of over...
, winery Torre di Pietra produces a Touriga Nacional varietal on a limited basis.