Precious Little Touriga Nacional 2018
- $30
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Portugal’s Touriga Nacional is the grape famously associated with port, but more recently has produced serious and notable red (dry) table wines.
Full-bodied, big, bold and ageworthy, this wine is a classic in the making: an inky deep purple in the glass, the aromas are sweet and savoury, like BBQ’d duck breast with morello cherry reduction. It’s rich and ripe with dark berries and plums, but has a savoury, dark chocolate edge. The wine is ripe and rich on the palate, with an abundance of fruits, and those savoury notes too with a hint of balsamic. There is a clean line of acidity to freshen up all the richness, and fine, gravelly tannins to finish. I would hazard a suggestion of a beef bourguignon-type of dish: a slow-cooked saucy meat and smoked bacon element would do spiffingly well here.
Melissa began her hospitality career in London working for the Rolling Stones, returning to Australia at the dawn of the wine bar explosion in Melbourne to develop a deep love of wine, restaurants, beaches and much warmer weather. She has judged at several national and local wine shows including The Royal Sydney Show, the NSW Wine Awards and The Alternative Varieties Wine Show, and contributed to the Sydney Morning Herald with wine selection articles. Melissa was selected to be a scholar of the Len Evans’ Tutorial and was dux of the 2019 New Zealand Family of Twelve Tutorial. She was previously Head Sommelier at Merivale and is now Beverage and Operations Manager for the Love Tilly Group. She lives in Sydney with her family.
