Touriga Franca

Also known as: Touriga Francesa (Portugal), Touriga Fêmea

Touriga Franca is the uncomplicated sister of Touriga Nacional – less loud, but more structured than its reputation suggests. In Port wine blends it brings the floral notes, in the Dão it delivers fine-boned red wines at Niepoort that manage without extraction. It ripens faster than the Nacional, but is underestimated precisely for this reason: what ripens late doesn’t automatically have to be better. Touriga Franca can combine fresh fruit expression with fine tannin structure without becoming heavy – a quality that becomes more important in warmer years.