Prats & Symington Chryseia Douro 2012
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Chryseia is one of the leading Douro DOCwines from Portugal's Douro Valley, one ofthe most exci ng wine regions in the worldaccording to Wine Spectator. Chryseia iscomprised of 65% Touriga Nacional and35% Touriga Franca. It pairs best with richmeats like lamb and strong cheeses.
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Wine Enthusiast
This marks the 17th vintage of this wine, a joint venture between the Douro-based Symington family and Bordeaux consultant Bruno Prats. Based entirely on fruit from Quintas de Roriz and Perdiz, this smooth, structured wine has many of the characteristics of Bordeaux with its new wood and elegant texture. Acidity, black fruits and tannins are developing well. Drink from 2019.
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James Suckling
A medium-to full-bodied red with aromas of currants, dried flowers, dried leaves, tobacco, stones, oyster shell and iodine. Concentrated, supple and flavorful with firm, fine-grained tannins. 78% touriga nacional with touriga franca. Deliciously savory.
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Wine Spectator
Pure and fresh-tasting, with good cut to the dark plum, blackberry pie and hot stone flavors, full of mincemeat and mineral notes. The luscious finish oozes chocolate mousse and raspberry ganache accents. Drink now through 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Chryseia is a blend of 72% Touriga Nacional, the rest Touriga Franca, aged for 15 months in new, 400-liter French oak. It comes in at just 13.7% alcohol, a bit lower than, say, the recent 2007-2009 trilogy (14.3, 14.1, 14.4, respectively). That and the vintage combine to create a wine that is long on charm and freshness, but not flesh and richness. Beautifully focused and rather intense on the finish, this adds the structure that its little brother, the Post Scriptum reviewed this issue, lacks. In other respects, it is quite similar and an amazing pleasure to taste with its fresh, lifted fruit and its graceful demeanor. It may yet develop a little more and add some flesh and complexity. It is not the biggest, deepest or most powerful Chryseia, but it is one of the most charming. There were 2,470 cases produced, plus some large format bottles.
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This wine stood out among the other Douro reds in our tasting for its supple texture and broad tannins—enough for one panelist to note, “It’s not very Portuguese; the blend feels more like a Bordeaux.” So it was interesting to learn that the wine was Chryseia, a partnership between Bordelais Bruno Prats and the Douro-based Symington family. Their 2012 is plump, soft and sleek, with earthy notes of schist and plenty of warmth. It grows mostly at two estates in São João de Pesqueira, the north-facing Quinta de Roriz, along the left bank of the Douro, and Perdiz, a warmer site in the Torto valley. Premium Port Wines, San Francisco, CA
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With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.