Exploring a Portuguese Legend

Touriga Nacional, It has been a favorite varietal of mine from the first time I tasted it a Unicorn Winery about 5 years ago. A standard for those of you who love traditional port, and one of the stand out grapes for those of you who enjoy wines from across the pond. However, I can honestly say I have never tasted a wine made of this grape from its native country so my love of it is solely based on the few wineries that are growing it here in Virginia.


Last year I made my first visit to Barren Ridge winery solely because the made a single varietal Touriga Nacional  I remember being smitten with it then, not because it was the best Touriga Nacional I have every tasted, but because it was a good wine. It surprised me because it was the 2011 vintage. As most serious VA wine drinkers know, 2011 was at best a challenging year, especially in the NOVA and Charlottesville region where 15+ inches of rain fell in a two week period that coincided with traditional harvest time for red wines. Many wineries lost full harvests of some of their red wines, and the ones that didn't had to fight off rot and other diseases. So to find a challenging grape, in a challenging varietal, in a challenging year that didn't taste like garbage was worth a buy.

Barren Ridge winery was first planted in 2007, and is the first winery in Augusta county. It features 10 acres of vines, and a winemaker who really knows what he is doing.

Unlike in other years, the 2011's from Virginia in my humble opinion are probably as good as they're going to get now. So save the 2010's, 2009's, and 2008's for future drinking at a future date, especially the 2010's, and enjoy 2011's now.

With that in mind, we set out to find a wine to pair with Sunday's dinner. We had a Cajun venison sausage with cheese planned with a fajita style salad featuring peppers and red onions with a balsamic dressing and accented with cotija, a salty Mexican cheese to balance things out. After reviewing the selection, we decided on the 2011 Touriga from Barren Ridge. We opened it and settled it in the decanter while we prepared dinner.

Although it was cool night, the Cajun sausage was grilled on our gas grill. It came out slightly crispy and delicious  and just about perfect. The salad was slightly sweet and salty, a good balance for the spicy sausage. The only question the remained was the wine. How would it be?

After an hour in the decanter, my wife and I agreed the nose showed earth with light cracked pepper. It featured a very light body with a light muted red fruit with a dry dusty finish. Paired with the spicy sausage the fruit became much brighter.
However, true to the characteristics of a good wine, even after a hour in the decanter the wine had changed prior to the second glass. The nose had settled and the black pepper had left. The fruit was still quite muted on the nose, but there was almost a hint of vanilla, no doubt imparted by oak aging. The pallet had not changed much however, the fruit was a little brighter and more pronounced. Overall, it balanced the spiciness of the the venison sausage. It represented the winery nicely, and has me excited for the 2012 that is still to be released.


If you have not visited Barren Ridge winery, I'd highly recommend it. It features a good line up of wine, and each is very good in quality. Great place to stop and have a picnic, and  I'm very excited for my next visit  to sample the next vintages.