Chryseia and Post Scriptum are the first and second wines produced by the partnership of Bordeaux Winemaker Bruno Prats and the Symington family of the Douro in Portugal. These notes accompany the in-depth feature on the partnership, When Bordeaux met Porto.
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Post Scriptum 2008
There’s a cedary finesse to this wine, with bold and glossy fruit. Positively creamy on the nose, it shows some very fine oak and great refinement. On the palate it has great freshness, with a squirt of juicy cherry acidity and elegant cherry and redcurrant fruit. Very fine tannins, lovely balance, quite grippy and needing time. 90/100.
Post Scriptum 2009
Finished sample, to be bottled late 2010. A blend of 75% Touriga Nacional and 25% Touriga Franca. Silky, refined, softly mineral and cedary nose with very elegant, gently spiced cherry and blackberry fruit. The palate has lovely acidity, the mouth-feel softened by a French chalk silkiness to the tannins and the ripe, juicy red fruit filling the mouth. Delicious balance here, a little roughening Touriga Nacional character adding a touch of meatier depth, but the long, spicy finish is delicious. 93/100.
Chryseia 2007
Big, coffeeish and toasty nose, very seductive with lots of chocolate and espresso melding with juicy, fat cherry and lots of substance. The palate has that line of refinement with beautifully taut structure showing grippy mineral edges to the plush but firm black fruit, but the finish shows a little more spice and a little more aggression than the 2008. A fine wine, but just lacks the 08’s beauty for me. 92/100.
Chryseia 2008
A blend of fruit from Quintas Perdiz, Vila Velha, Vesuvio and Bonfim and a 50%/50% blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca. 12 months in new French oak. Beautifully fragrant nose, with deep, cedary and Sandalwood scents, but in the background with ripe, fresh red and black fruits to the fore. A glint of that schisty, stony minerality too. The palate has lovely fruit and great finesse: there’s no meatiness or earthiness to this wine, no sense of more baked quality. The fruit is creamy and slicked with vanilla, but has lovely clarity and purity, pushing through with very refined tannins. Extremely long and fine, with such a delightfully poised finish. Plush but absolutely beautifully pitched. 94/100.
Chryseia 2009
The proportion of Touriga Franca is 60% in this vintage. Again a barrel sample, but finished and blended and about to be bottled in December 2010. Beautifully bright, ripe, primary cherry fruit with delightful background smokiness and creaminess, touches of that schisty minerality. But the fruit focus and ripeness is exquisite. Beautiful concentration and balance though, with very creamy, supple tannins and lovely acidity. Extremely promising. 94-95/100.
See also When Bordeaux met Porto.