red grape · regional staple
Touriga Nacional
Dão, Portugal
Say it
too·ree·gahnah·syoo·nahl
Both words carry penultimate stress in European Portuguese; the 'r' in touriga is a tap/flap, not the English approximant
On the palate
Body
full
Acidity
high
Tannin
high
Aromatics
pronounced
violetblackberryblack currantblack plumblueberry
How you spot it blind: intense violet-and-bergamot perfume from highest free terpenoid levels of any red grape
The story
First written down · 1790, Douro and Beiras, Portugal
Classified by agronomist Lacerda Lobo in 1790, Touriga Nacional nearly vanished after phylloxera because its extremely low yields made replanting unattractive, until 1990s winemakers including Dirk Niepoort restored it as Portugal's prestige red variety.
Where it lives
Douro · Dão · Alentejo · South Australia · Stellenbosch
Shows up as
still redfortifiedrosésparklingDouro DOCDão DOCVintage Port