Churchill’s announces new harvests 

This week, Churchill’s presented the new harvests of its Churchill’s Estates Grafite and Quinta da Gricha Douro wines. Founded in 1981 by winemaker Johnny Graham, who represents the 5th generation of his family to produce Douro wine, Churchill’s establishes itself as an emblematic Portuguese, family and independent wine producer. 

 Churchill’s Estates Grafite Red 2020 arrives on the market, the brand’s interpretation of an elegant and classic red wine from the Douro. With around 30% of the batch aged for 12 months in French oak casks, this wine presents aromas of flowers and dark wild fruits, with soft tannins and a touch of spice in the finish. 

Also from the Churchill’s Estates Grafite line, Touriga Nacional and Grande Reserva 2015 are now launched. Churchill’s Estates Grafite Touriga Nacional is an intense and complex wine in the mouth, with aromas of wild basil and notes of fresh green peppers and spices, which reflects well the freshness that characterizes Churchill’s wines. Churchill’s Estates Grande Reserva is produced from old vines in the Douro region. A robust and complex wine with dark fruit flavors, supported by firm tannins and well-integrated notes of aging in wood. It is a wine with excellent aging potential. The Churchill’s Estates Grafite line is produced with indigenous grape varieties from the Douro region, with the aim of expressing the unparalleled richness of this extreme and unique terroir in the world. The name graffiti is a tribute to the artistic signature of the winemakers, who are dedicated to producing these wines in the most natural way possible. 

Also anticipating its arrival on the market, the brand presented Quinta da Gricha 2020. Produced exclusively with grapes from Quinta da Gricha, this wine expresses the unique characteristics of this ‘terroir’. Quinta da Gricha is the home of Churchill’s in the Douro, in the heart of Cima Corgo. With mills dating back to 1852, and benefiting from a north-facing exposure, Gricha produces wines where power and structure merge with the wildest character and beauty of the ‘terroir’. The signature profile of Gricha wines is the vibrant combination of freshness, minerality and natural acidity. 

Taking advantage of the occasion, the house’s winemaker Ricardo Pinto Nunes spoke of a very intense 2023 harvest, but with great expectations for the results of the wines that are now aging. «At Churchill’s we started harvesting on August 23rd, with Douro wines. The grapes for Port wine began to enter the cellar on September 1st. At the beginning we had very hot and stable weather, but during the month of September we had periods of intense rain that forced the cutting rhythm to be constantly adapted depending on climatic instability», explains the winemaker. «But the truth is that we are very excited about the potential of the wines this year, especially those harvested before the second wave of heavier precipitation». 

The new harvests of Churchill’s Estates Grafite and Quinta da Gricha wines hit the market in November and can be found in restaurants, specialized wine stores or in Churchill’s wine tourism spaces.