Quinto do Crasto Reserve Old Vines - 2003

[Mahmoud Ali]

2003 Quinto do Crasto Reserva Old Vines, Duoro, Portugal(14.5%)

I just bought a few bottles of the 2014 vintage of the Reserva and, since they were only four years old, couldn't resist putting it away for a bit. However I made it a point to pull out an older vintage. Since I had a few of them out came the 2003 Reserva, now 15 years old.

It was decanted about 15 minutes before dinner with the use of a glass funnel aerator. We had it with baked chicken, onions, and mushrooms on rice, together with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant in To Catch A Thief. The wine exuded a lightly perfumed nose of dark cherry fruit and some dried herbs, with an aromatic lift that reflected the higher alcohol but wasn't terribly pronounced. The palate was medium-bodied, fleshy at first with sweet fruit, then taking on a savoury, dry, herb and mineral aspect, finishing with gentle tannins that produced a mouth watering savouriness that lingers. This wine has turned the corner, a far cry from the last bottle about five years ago when it was a bit hot with clumsy, stewy fruit, a sign that perhaps the hot vintage character had prevailed.

I would just as readily drink another bottle of this as watch Grace Kelly and Cary Grant; understated, graceful, and elegant.

Cheers ............... Mahmoud.

[paulf]

We don't see much Quinta do Crasto here, but a little bit of the Reserva does get in. I assume that one was made by Dominic Morris who, for a number of years, split his time between Crasto and his own winery, Pondalowie up Bendigo way.
Crasto made one of the best wines I have ever tasted - the 98 Maria Teresa.
Having said that, the ambiance may have helped. It was on the terrace of the house at the winery with one of the best views looking down the Douro, you could ever hope for.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Yes, I believe he was a consulting winemaker at Quinta do Crasto. The best Crasto wine for me was a very young 2004 Maria Teresa, at one time going for about $150 over here. Ambiance may have helped but there is no doubt that it is a good wine made from a single vineyard of old terraced vines. The Reserva is the sweet spot in their portfolio for quality and price, made from about 25 to 30 varietals and averaging 70 years of age.

When in Sydney, I don't recall seeing Crasto wines but did see Quinto do Vallado, though the price seemed high.

Mahmoud.