Visiting Quinta do Crasto, Portugal’s leading table wine producer IMHO, first requires a hair raising drive up the Douro mountains. But you are rewarded not only with amazing views, a look at its world famous Maria Teresa vineyard (above), but also a memorable tasting. The Maria Teresa vineyard, over 100 years old, is always voted as one of the world’s top 10 vineyards and the single vineyard wine certainly made the reputation of Crasto. When I visited 6-7 years ago, Manuel Lobo, the winemaker, described a project to identify the different grape varieties of this field blend. He estimated about 35. When I met him now, he mentioned they are up to 54 varieties - astonishing and pretty unique. The care for this vineyard is such that if vines die, and the variety is not known, they replant with the major varieties mix, in order to maintain the profile of this vineyard. It is an amazing story, but not the only one. Total production of table wines has grown dramatically to 1.8 million bottles. Let us taste some.
We start with two whites. The 2021 Douro is an entry level wine. It comes from grapes grown at 600m altitude on granite soils, and it sees no oak. The wine is fresh, with good line, citrus and melon flavours, refreshing acidity, good energy, and a saline and mineral finish. This is an entry level wine? (91 points). The 2020 Superior White comes from a similar vineyard, but in contrast, has been matured for 8 months in barrique, 50% new of light toast. The other feature is the batonage, in a racking system of barrels, which allows each barrel to turn individually. It also avoids any oxygen contact. This wine is also fresh, and impresses with its fine texture (93 points).
Now to the reds, which is the winery's main focus. The 2019 Superior, from a good year, comes from the Upper Douro, not far from the Spanish border. The main varieties in this blend are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and Souzao. The wine is matured in oak for 12 months, 35% new. Red plum is the main flavour. The wine has firm tannins and will require a bit more time to fully settle (90 points). The 2020 Reserva has an incredibly black colour. It comes from old 50-100 year old vineyards, 42 blocks in total. Each individual block is a field blend - amazing. The wine is matured in 60% new oak, but the oak is not obvious. The wine is concentrated and powerful, but elegant as well, with a long lasting mouthfeel (95 points).
The final two reds in this tasting are single variety wines, which is not often found in the Douro. The 2018 Touriga Franca comes from 40 year old vines, and is matured in 85% new oak. Despite this, it is a lighter wine, but with some bite. It is fresh, red fruited, and with some spice (93 points). The 2017 Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo in Spain) is also matured for 18 months in 85% new oak. It has a darker colour and is a bigger wine. The palate is quite complex with red and black fruits, dark mocca, and olive flavours (95 points).
Overall, this tasting has been impressive. Manuel Lobo has been the winemaker for 18 years now. He has assembled an incredible portfolio of vineyard sources. The oak treatment is smart, and all the wines are of a high standard.
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