Delaforce Touriga Nacional

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At a Glance

Wine: Delaforce Touriga Nacional 2021

Region: Douro, Portugal

Grape: 100% Touriga Nacional

Style: Full-bodied, aromatic and structured

Look for: Blackberry, black plum, violets, vanilla and gentle spice

Serve: Around 64°F; open or decant approximately 30 minutes before drinking

Pair with: Roast beef, steak, game, braised meats and strong cheeses

Pronunciation: toh-REE-gah nah-see-oh-NAHL

Why This Wine?

Many of our wine club members love big California Cabernet Sauvignon. That left me wondering: Can Portugal offer that same sense of richness that we love while giving us something entirely new to discover?

Delaforce Touriga Nacional may be the answer.

Touriga Nacional is one of Portugal’s most celebrated red grapes. It produces deeply colored wines with concentrated dark fruit, firm structure and the ability to age—but it also has an intensely floral character that makes it very different from Cabernet.

This wine has the body and dark fruit that Cabernet drinkers often appreciate, but look beyond the blackberry and plum and you may notice violets, fresh acidity and a distinctive mineral quality. It feels powerful and somewhat serious, but still inviting.

And although Delaforce is best known for Port, this is a dry, unfortified Douro red wine—not a sweet Port.

What to Look For

The first surprise may be the aroma.

Touriga Nacional is known for combining dark fruit with distinctly floral notes. Look for blackberry, black plum and blackcurrant alongside violets or other wildflowers.

French-oak aging contributes subtle vanilla and spice without covering up the fruit. The tannins are structured but well integrated, and fresh acidity keeps the wine balanced.

The finish is long and lingering. This is a wine worth slowing down for—and one that may continue opening and changing in the glass throughout dinner.

Something I Learned

Touriga Nacional plays an important role in Portugal’s famous Port wines, but it can also produce remarkable dry table wines on its own.

Its grapes are small and thick-skinned, giving the finished wine deep color, concentrated flavor, substantial tannin and excellent aging potential. Yields tend to be low, which means the vines produce less fruit—but that fruit can be exceptionally intense.

Wines of Portugal places Touriga Nacional alongside Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo among the world’s great red varieties. Its hallmark flavors include blackcurrant and raspberry, along with floral, herbal and licorice notes.

Delaforce ferments this wine in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks and then ages it for 12 months in French oak barrels. Approximately 30% of the wine goes into new oak.

The grapes come from São João da Pesqueira in the Douro, a region of dramatic, steeply terraced vineyards and rocky schist soils.

Delaforce itself dates to 1868 and became one of the leading names in Port. The company was even a supplier to the Portuguese Royal Household from 1894 to 1906.

Today, it is owned by Real Companhia Velha, also known as Royal Oporto, whose history in the Port trade stretches back more than 250 years. That's a lot of history behind one bottle.

Pair With

The producer recommends Delaforce Touriga Nacional with roast beef, game and strong cheeses.

Some things I might pair with it:

• Steak or roast beef

• Braised short ribs

• Lamb

• Venison or other game

• A hearty burger

• Aged cheddar, Manchego or blue cheese

• Mushroom ragù

• Pepperoni and hot honey flatbread

• Rich, slow-cooked dishes once the weather cools

For an August gathering, serve it very slightly cool rather than warm. A brief chill will emphasize its freshness without hiding the wine’s aromas.

What Other People Are Tasting

The producer describes this wine as elegant and intensely aromatic, combining characteristic Touriga Nacional fruit and floral notes with slight hints of vanilla. It emphasizes the wine’s integrated tannins, fresh acidity and long finish.

Wine Enthusiast described a previous vintage as perfumed, with violet aromas and structured black-plum flavors.

The producer’s technical sheet also notes that the wine has significant potential to age. That makes it interesting now, but it should become softer and more integrated with additional time in the bottle.

If Cabernet Sauvignon is powerful because of its cassis, tannin and structure, Touriga Nacional offers a fascinating Portuguese variation: similarly serious, but more floral, exotic and distinctly its own.

Curious?

Want to dig a little deeper into the grape, wine and producer?

• Visit the official Delaforce Touriga Nacional page for tasting notes, winemaking information and pairing recommendations.

• Read the Delaforce technical sheet for detailed information about the wine’s French-oak aging, acidity and structure.

• Explore the history of Delaforce and its long association with Port and the Douro Valley.

• Learn more about Touriga Nacional from Wines of Portugal, including its floral character, thick skins and aging potential.

• See the Wine Enthusiast review of a previous vintage for another perspective on the wine’s violet aromas and structured dark fruit.

Ready to discover Portugal’s answer to Cabernet Sauvignon?

[Shop Delaforce Touriga Nacional]

Available for online purchase and pickup at Fisk Bier & Wine in Galesburg, Illinois. The person picking up must be 21 or older and present a valid government-issued photo ID.