South African Legends Series ‘Vasco & the Explorers’ Touriga Nacional 2016 Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

The South African Legends Series celebrates the people who shaped the Cape, and this bottle salutes Vasco da Gama, whose voyages linked Europe with the southern seas. Fittingly, it is made from Touriga Nacional, Portugal’s most celebrated red grape, grown here in Stellenbosch, the heartland of Cape reds.

Touriga Nacional is best known in the Douro, where it gives both port and powerful dry reds. In warm Stellenbosch it keeps its trademark intensity: small berries, deep colour and a heady, floral perfume alongside dark fruit. It remains an unusual, characterful choice among South African reds, and its rarity is part of the appeal for anyone who likes to explore.

This is the 2016 vintage. We hold limited vintage-specific detail for this wine, and the catalogue lists no producer for it, so the notes describe the grape and region rather than verified estate or harvest data.

Expect concentrated black fruit and blackcurrant, a lift of violet and floral perfume, and a firm, structured palate with grippy tannins. A few years in bottle will have softened its edges, and a decant of an hour or so suits it well before serving at cool room temperature. Give it time in the glass and its floral, perfumed side comes forward alongside the dark fruit.

A bold, aromatic red like this stands up to rich, savoury food, so pour it with roast lamb, game, beef or a mature hard cheese. If you enjoy Douro reds or simply want to try Touriga beyond Portugal, this is an intriguing bottle from an unexpected corner of the wine world.