Best of Show: Red Wine
St. Amant Winery
2016 The Old Soldier Touriga By Deborah Parker Wong
I
f you enjoy port, the rich, fortified wine of Portugal’s Douro Valley, you’re already a fan of Touriga. Touriga Nacional as it is known in Portugal is one of the five classic grape varieties that are blended to make Port wines. The Touriga variety that won this year’s Best of Show Red made its way from Portugal to UC Davis where it was selected by St. Amant’s late Tim Spencer and planted at an estate vineyard in Amador County in 1980.
“Touriga is expressive and the wine style in any given year is always going to be dictated by what the vintage gives us. 2016 was a darker vintage with amplified flavors and 15 % abv.” When asked about the name of the wine, Spencer replied, “We have an old dump truck on the property that we fondly called the ‘Old Soldier’ and we felt it was a good name for a wine from an old vineyard site. Both are a testament to our 40-year history of working the land.”
Spencer who was an early adopter of Iberian varieties replanted the original vineyard, a flat site BARBARA ST. AMANT SPENCER & STUART SPENCER that sits at 200 feet in altitude, to the same Touriga clone in The future for Touriga looks bright as more 1994. “Touriga has continued to perform excepCalifornia vintners are sourcing the grapes and tionally well on the heavier alluvial clay soils here St. Amant has grafted over additional acres to meet which add more concentration and higher levels that demand. Spencer also sees Touriga as a of tannins to the wines,” said Stuart Spencer who natural rosé blending grape which means it’s very became winemaker at the Lodi winery in 2006. likely he has a Touriga rosé in the works. The This late ripening, small-berried variety benewinery produces several Iberian varieties including fits from the cool air that spills off of the nearby Tempranillo aka Tinta Roriz, another key port Sierras; a key factor that helps the grapes retain variety, and Verdelho, a crisp lemony white wine in acidity and lends freshness to the wines. addition to award winning Zinfandel, Barbera and St. Amant’s Touriga is a richly textured wine with Petite Syrah. distinct violet aromas and a spicy red fruit characThis is the second Best of Show Red award for ter. “We originally vinified it in the Port style and St. Amant Winery which celebrates its 40th anniused the grape in dry wine blends,” said Spencer. versary of winegrowing and winemaking next year. Today’s version of The Old Soldier ($21 SRP) is a In 2016 Spencer won with an Amador County 2014 monovarietal Touriga that was destemmed “The Road Less Traveled” Tempranillo ($18). “Our in small lots and aged in neutral oak barrels.
36 2018 Guide to the Best of California Magazine