Word on the vine - Touriga Nacional

Portugal’s resilient, drought-resistant grape is at the heart of many a superior port, but it makes excellent dry reds too

THE GRAPE
Portugal’s most famous grape is known for being the most characteristic of five main grapes grown in the Douro to make red port, but producers in other regions are increasingly turning to touriga nacional to make dry wines, not least in the Dão – the mountainous region 80km south of the Douro. Ruby port is a young wine bottled after two or three years, while Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) is a ruby from a single year bottled and ready to drink after four to six years of ageing. Vintage port is wine from a single, superior year (generally every third year), bottled after two or three years in the cask, before being left to mature for over a decade. Once you open it, however, port will keep no longer than a week in the fridge without being impaired.

THE GRAPE
Portugal’s most famous grape is known for being the most characteristic of five main grapes grown in the Douro to make red port, but producers in other regions are increasingly turning to touriga nacional to make dry wines, not least in the Dão – the mountainous region 80km south of the Douro. Ruby port is a young wine bottled after two or three years, while Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) is a ruby from a single year bottled and ready to drink after four to six years of ageing. Vintage port is wine from a single, superior year (generally every third year), bottled after two or three years in the cask, before being left to mature for over a decade. Once you open it, however, port will keep no longer than a week in the fridge without being impaired.

THE PAIRINGS
Ruby is a traditional match for Stilton or Roquefort due to the contrast of sweet red fruit and tangy cheese, but try it with chocolate too, while walnuts and dried figs are a heavenly match for vintage port. Pair dry touriga nacional as you would cabernet sauvignon: steak, confit duck or any wintry braised meat.

THE VINES
The world’s oldest demarcated wine region, the Douro begins 80km east of Porto and stretches to the Spanish border. Here, they must survive cold winters and summers so dry that in some years not a single drop of rain may fall. Vines cling to terraces on steep slopes of schist and slate through which the roots extend to find what water there is, resulting in low yields of less than 0.5 litres of juice per vine. Because of its resilience, it’s among seven ‘new’ grape varieties allowed in blends for Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur to combat climate change. It is also grown in Australia, where it is known simply as touriga.