TOURIGA
Food Match: Portugese style chicken, butterflied, barbecued on coals, coated with peri peri sauce, served with crusty bread and side salad, lime wedges and chunky chips.
Reviews of 2020 Touriga:
93 points, Mike Bennie, Winefront:
McLaren Vale Touriga on blast. Highly perfumed, all forest berries, sarsaparilla, liquorice, mint and sage characters. Glossy textured, soft and supple, sweet fruited but tempered with crisp, tangy fresh acidity and some creamy, soft tannins lending length and a lovely, puckering finish. Seriously good times, lots of structure and depth yet vitality. Great stuff.
91 points, Ned Goodwin, Halliday Companion 2022:
A bright, mid-weighted, crunchy and slightly sweet red. Touriga, inherently high in acidity, serving to tone flavours of violet, sweet cherry, anise and a sachet of herb. The finish, long and vibrant.
Reviews of 2019 Touriga:
95 points, Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show:
Vibrant, clean & juby pure fruit with a soft long violet finish
93 points, Mike Bennie, Wine Business Magazine:
Straight up, great drinking. Charisma and charm, cola and sour-sweet berry characters, pomegranate juice, cardamom & a hustle of minty herbs. It feels medium weight, slippery but finishes with a smudge of tannins. It's charming from hello, and distinct in its personality. It's got a lot going for it, no doubt.
Reviews of 2018 Touriga:
93 points, Gourmet Traveller Wine - 100 Top New Release Wine:
You can smell and taste Portugal here, the same notes that come through in Portuguese vintage Port, although not porty in the overripe sense. Black cherry, aniseed; beautifully made and fresh; the palate full bodied and firmly structured, powerful and long-lasting.
93 points, Huon Hooke - The Real Review:
Deep, bold, bright purple/red colour, with a lovely sweet black cherry bouquet that smacks of Portuguese port, although it's not 'porty' as such. It's the fruit character, which is very authentic. The wine is full-bodied and firmly-structured, powerful and long-lasting on the palate. A really smart red wine with a bright future.
91 points, Gary Walsh - The Wine Front:
Violet, lavender, chamomile – so floral – also new leather, Christmas cake, blueberry. It’s juicy and plump, plenty of dark fruit and peel, dark chocolate, freshness with sinewy tannin, and a chalky finish of solid length. A lot of interest and pleasure in the glass here.
Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show - Silver Medal: "Bright red garnet, a little ripe floral lavender notes on the nose, the palate is soft and even tempered, lovely lines and spice. Vibrant and juicy.
92 points, James Halliday 2020 Wine Companion:
Dry red style with leather and red cherry flavours doused lightly with dusty dried herbs and spices. There's just enough firmness to the tannin and a good level of ripeness to the fruit. Its a wine of a confident producer.
Reviews of 2017 Touriga:
Andrew Graham, Australian Wine Review, May 2018,:
Please, more McLaren Vale Touriga. This is the first crop off Malcolm & Richard Leask’s Touriga plantings and it’s a winner, with bright, gummy bear purple fruit and a just a hint of soil. It’s so vital! Great fine tannins too. Every time I try these well balanced, energetic fruity Touriga Nacional styles I’m reminded how good they are. Delicious, fruity wine. It’s not wildly serious but an enjoyable drink with acidity, tannins and flavour. Best drinking: Now to seven years. 17.7/20, 92/100. 13.2%, $27. Would I buy it? Sure would.
