2020 Prats & Symington Chryseia

Indulge in the 2020 Prats & Symington Chryseia, a Douro Valley red bursting with dark fruit, spice, and a velvety finish.

Producer

Prats & Symington

Region

Douro Valley

Country

Portugal

Varietal

Touriga Nacional / Touriga Franca

Varietal Composition

70% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca

Specifications

2020

Vintage

2038

Drink By

ABV

Vinification

Aged 15 months in 400L French oak barrels

Occasional wine note

You will likely not find a host of wines from the Douro region of Portugal at your local wine shop outside of fortified wines. The Douro region is home to the famous Port wine, but some of the same grapes used in Port production are also used to produce hearty complex dry red wines like the one we have on this list. Both Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional are dark skinned grapes native to Portugal, but they have different flavor profiles. The Touriga Nacional produces bigger bolder Cabernet-like flavor qualities, as well as Cabernet’s aging potential. In fact, it has recently been added as an approved blending variety in the Bordeaux region as a means of keeping pace with climate change. Touriga Franca by contrast is a lighter bodied, more aromatic grape. Together these create a balanced blend that brings out both beauty and the beast. This is a great representation of why the Douro region’s strong reputation for producing great dry red wines in addition to the one they already have for their Ports will proliferate in the US.

What experts say about this wine

100

Wine Enthusiast

Produced by the partnership between Bordelais Bruno Prats and the Douro's Symington family, the wine is a stylish projection of rich black fruits and still youthful tannins. It has great potential. Drink from 2026.

100

Revista Adega

Red composed of 70% Touriga Nacional and 30% Touriga Franca grapes, coming from Quinta de Roriz and Quinta da Perdiz, both owned by Prats & Symington, in addition, as in all previous editions of Chryseia, there is a contribution from Quinta da Vila Velha, exclusively from Rupert Symington. The wine ages for 15 months in new 400-liter French oak barrels before being bottled. Even for a year with more extreme temperatures like 2020 in the Douro, it presents red and black fruits, ripe at the right point (without traces of overripeness), accompanied by floral notes, herbs and sweet spices, which are confirmed in the mouth. Powerful and structured, but also precise, defined and refined, it has refreshing acidity, tense, fine-grained tannins and a full, fluid and persistent finish, with touches of blackberries, cassis, violets and licorice. Living proof that concentration and finesse can go hand in hand. Designed to beat time, it's great now, but it has everything to get even better in the coming decades.

pairing recommendation