Touriga Nacional Spur

Reviews and awards:
94 points Wine Magazine;
18 points Grandes Escolhas Wine.

Touriga Nacional is a noble, traditional Portuguese grape variety that gives the wine intensity, balance, and good aging potential. This wine originates from one of the oldest vineyards of this variety in the Alentejo region – the Badeco vineyard, at Herdade do Esporão. It is a wine that combines the expression of the grape variety with the characteristics and maturity of the vineyard and the experience of the people who have cared for the vine and the wine over the years.

VINIFICATION / AGING

Hand-harvested on September 9, 2015. Foot-trodden. Fermentation began in marble lagares (traditional wine presses), after which the grapes were transferred to concrete tanks where fermentation was completed.

New French oak barrels for 1 year, followed by at least two years in the bottle.

MORE INFORMATION

It was born in the Badeco Vineyard, at the Esporão Estate, in 1988 and is probably the oldest vineyard of this grape variety in the Alentejo region.

This wine is produced only in exceptional years, resulting from intense experimentation and collaboration between the oenology and viticulture teams at Herdade do Esporão. This work is based on the vinification of small batches of the same grape variety from different plots, where the ultimate goal is to understand and enhance the character of each variety associated with the type of soil and microclimate in which it is planted.

The culmination of this ongoing trial work by the two teams is the release of these unique wines, characterized by the low production of each variety.

WINEMAKERS: David Baverstock and Sandra Alves

COLOR: Deep, dark red and purple.

AROMA: Aromas of blueberry, blackberry and plum; some notes of coffee mixed with subtle notes of toasted oak.

PALATE: Intense, long, with texture, balance and persistence.