After evaluating 1,170 references, the Wines of Portugal Competition has already revealed the big winners. The title of “Best of the Year” 2026 distinguishes Chryseia 2023, a red wine from Douro that results from the partnership between the Symington and Prats families.
“Created with enormous care and attention to detail in the winery at Quinta de Roriz, Chryseia represents the two families’ commitment to producing the most elegant wine from two essential grapes in the Douro — Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca.” Thus, the project created in 1999 and which gave rise to the big winner of the 2026 Wines of Portugal Competition is publicly presented.
Promoted by ViniPortugal, the initiative evaluated 1,170 references in various categories. Chryseia 2023 was voted “The Best of the Year”, and also won the award for Best Red Wine of the Year (Blend).
A wine already “accustomed” to winning the most diverse awards and high scores from critics, the red DOC Douro Chryseia 2023 aged for 15 months in French oak barrels, from “a rigorous selection of grapes from Quinta de Roriz and Quinta da Perdiz, properties of Prats & Symington”, in Cima Corgo, considered the heart of the Douro Valley.
As in all previous editions of Chryseia, the usual contribution from Roriz’s neighboring vineyard, Quinta da Vila Velha, privately owned by Rupert Symington, was also recorded, explains the producer. Bruno Prats, Charles Symington, Pedro Correia and Miguel Bessa are the winemakers responsible for the 2023 edition.
“The 2023 presents a magnificent freshness, with great elegance and precision – a refined expression of the Douro”, announces the producer, specifying the use of 72% Touriga Nacional and 28% Touriga Franca.
“Ideal with red meat and cured cheeses”, at in Porto, the “elegant” Chryseia 2023 is available for €75.
It is worth noting that the Chryseia project began in 1999, when the Symington family, from Douro, and the Prats family, from Bordeaux, “joined their respective capabilities to reimagine the style of DOC Douro wines. Our vision was to demonstrate that the Douro valley can produce not only great Port wines, but also excellent dry red wines. Almost a quarter of a century later, Chryseia has become a globally recognized reference for an elegant and elegant DOC Douro red wine. thin”, can be read on the page dedicated to with continuous editions since 2000.
Douro, Bairrada and Madeira highlighted
The winners of the 13th edition of the Wines of Portugal Competition, promoted by ViniPortugal, were announced on May 8th, in Évora. Among 1170 references in the competition, it was Chryseia, 2023 that won the award for “The Best of the Year” 2026 e “The Best Red Wine of the Year (Blend)”reinforcing the weight of the Douro in an edition in which this wine region led the way with 98 medals. “The Best Red Varietal of the Year” distinguished the wine Douro DOC, Quinta do Noval, Touriga Nacional, 2021, while from the same region he was elected “The Best Sparkling Wine of the Year”the Andreza Espumante Brut Nature, 2020, from the company Lua Cheia-Saven.
Already “The Best White Varietal of the Year” awarded the wine Encontro 1, Arinto, 2017, produced by Global Wines, in Bairrada, a region that also won the title “The Best of the Year White Wine (Blend)”thanks to Quinta das Bágeiras Fogueira, 2023. For Madeira it was the award “The Best of the Year Liqueur”attributed to the wine Henriques & Henriques Boal 30 Years.
Position Portuguese wine in the foreign market
For Frederico Falcão, president of ViniPortugal, the impact of this initiative goes far beyond the medals. “This Competition has a very important role in the way Portuguese wines are perceived abroad. By bringing together international judges with different profiles, from sommeliers to journalists and opinion leaders, we are creating a network of ambassadors who know firsthand the quality, diversity and authenticity of what is produced in Portugal. This direct contact is decisive in increasing trust and the presence of our wines in foreign markets.”
