Howard’s Folly launches Touriga Nacional 2015

By James Halliwell

Published: 12 February, 2019

Howard’s Folly Wines has announced the addition of Touriga Nacional 2015 to its portfolio.

Produced from grapes from the Portalegre region, one of the eight official sub-regions of the Alentejo located along the Spanish border, Howards’s said the wine shows the “typical characteristics of the region which is known for its powerful spicy red wines”.

Known for its blended wines, the single varietal Touriga Nacional is a change of direction for Howard’s, though David Baverstock and Howard Bilton, the duo behind the business, said the new wine would be both “exceptional” and “popular”.

“I am excited to bring this single varietal red wine to the market and am confident that it has all the qualities to sell extremely well,” said winemaker David Baverstock.

“The taste of dark berry fruit and plum aromatics with cumin spice notes, good balancing acidity and firm tannins on the finish will make it a popular choice”.

Howard Bilton said the addition “demonstrates why we have invested heavily in our own winery and vineyards: we want the freedom to create exceptional, small batch wines and to diversify into single varietals and increase production of reserve and super- premium wines. You can expect to see more of these from us in future.”

Bilton also enthused about the new labels for the wine.“I am honoured and delighted that such a famous artist as Sir Michael Craig-Martin created the totally new artworks that appear on our labels,” he said.

“The collaboration started as an off-the-cuff request from me when we met in Hong Kong. We shared a bottle of the Howard’s Folly Howard Hodgkins reserve and he obviously thought that our wines had sufficient merit to be associated with our brand. His work will be a hard act to follow.”

The new urban winery in Estremoz started production in September 2018, when the partnership announced their long-term investment in the Alentejo with the signing of a ten-year lease on vineyards in Portalegre.

“We will be investing in additional wine making equipment, including lagars, amphorae and small tanks,” said Baverstock. “I am really excited about the future of the Howard’s Folly project: we have all the facilities and equipment we need to make truly exceptional wines.”

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