2012 Chryseia

15 months in new French oak. Inky crimson with black core. Intense and fragrant. There's lots of dark fruit but also a floral note, plenty of spice but the oak is eaten by the fruit. Smells very young and embryonic, with that dusty mineral quality of the best Douro reds. Oak more evident on the palate in sweet spice. Fresh and sustained but like the Post Scriptum, such soft and rounded tannins already. Finishes on sweet fruit – not quite what I expected from the nose. Sophisticated but almost too polished. (JH)

Very dark crimson with blackish tinge. Bonfire hint on the nose. Like the Post Scriptum 2012, this wine is super-fluid and fresh. Relatively transparent and hugely appealing already. (JR)

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.