Quinta do Crasto

SCORES AT ROBERT PARKER’S TO QUINTA DO CRASTO LBV PORT WINES

Excelent scores by Mark Squires at eRobertParker.com to Quinta do Crasto LBV Port wines.

FEBRUARY 2015

Miguel Roquette, of the family that owns Crasto, said to me that: "Our LBV has always been Traditional/Unfiltered and I have spent most of my wine career trying to convince people in the trade that Traditional LBVs can age beautifully. The only disadvantage is the deposit and the need for decanting, but compared with commercial LBVs the difference in my opinion is very obvious. Very often when hosting guests and customers at Crasto we pour an older LBV blind. Most of the time the guess goes to an old Vintage Port. It's great to see the expressions when we tell them that fact this was an LBV. Our first bottling was from 1988 and we have declared LBV every year ever since...."

The truth is that Crasto's LBVs not only match other producers' Vintage Ports, they do a pretty good job of matching Crasto's Vintage Ports, too. This was an exceptional group, one of the most interesting in this report.

Finally, note that Manuel Lobo, Crasto's winemaker, selected these after tasting through them. The older, library wines are not actually available here, although the importer gave me sample pricing.

Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Port 2010 – 90 points

The 2010 Late Bottled Vintage Port is an old-vines field blend aged in used Portuguese 9,000-liter tanks. It was bottled in November 2014. Perhaps due to the recent bottling here, this has a certain, fresh-squeezed fruit juice note that is completely enticing plus unbelievably and astonishingly delicious. Soft at first and increasingly tight as it airs out, it is luscious and well structured with a fine and boldly flavorful finish. A lot of 2010s are a bit compact and I suspect when this calms down, it will wind up that way too, which is all that constrains my current scoring. It has all the other pieces in place, though. It fills the mouth nicely at the moment and drinks beautifully. I'm not convinced it is a superstar, but I do wish everyone could taste it at this age–given its fabulous freshness and pure, young fruit. It's a fine performance in this vintage. Indeed, so many "off-vintage" LBVs demonstrate how feasible it is to make fine Port in those years. It also is a fine value that may yet improve. There were 21,000 bottles produced. Drink: 2015-2035.

Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Port 2008 – 92 points

The 2008 Late Bottled Vintage Port is an old-vines field blend aged in used Portuguese 9,000-liter tanks. It was bottled in July 2013. In this very elegant vintage that produced a lot of focused wines, Crasto managed to produce something rather sexy, sweet and delicious, but as with most fine LBVs, that's on first taste. After some air and a couple of days, it shows a firm backbone and tightens considerably. It is a wine that demonstrates some capability for aging, but it may be a touch more compact–and a bit more intense–than some others here. It is a more youthful and exuberant version of an LBV in Crasto's fine vertical here. Many might prefer this moment for this wine, but that's a mistake, because there is a lot going on here. It may be one of my favorite 2008s in this issue's LBV roundup. Its sappy young fruit is a marvel on opening. However, it should evolve and become more interesting, even if it is pretty hard to resist right now. Its structure will allow it to do so. It is a fine achievement in general and in the vintage. There were 27,000 bottles produced. Drink: 2015-2036.

Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Port 2004 – 93 points

The 2004 Late Bottled Vintage Port is an old-vines field blend aged in used Portuguese 9,000-liter tanks. It was bottled in December 2008. Just lovely, this is a powerful and concentrated LBV that seemed a touch decadent on opening and most certainly downright youthful at age 10 (when tasted). It makes the prime-time, youthful 1997 also in this vertical seem old. (It's not!) I liked them about equally, but for completely different reasons. With some tannins on the back end, this finishes with big bursts of flavor. As it airs, it shows more and more power, particularly by Day 3, becoming rather intense as its structure takes over. As so often happens with fine Port–yes, that includes LBVs–this kept getting more impressive over several days. In this vertical, it is certainly where the modern era begins--it is completely fresh, young, lively and quite delicious. It wouldn't hurt to give this a couple of more years to air out. It's a sleeper in this vertical. Drink: 2015-2038.

Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Port 1997 – 93 points

The 1997 Late Bottled Vintage Port is an old-vines field blend aged in used Portuguese 9,000-liter tanks. It was bottled in August 2001. Take Crasto's lovely 1994 in this vertical, add concentration and a firmer backbone and this is what you get. A bit better focused and still showing some tannins, this is a livelier wine all around and far more youthful in demeanor (not that the '94 is old). But it is not necessarily much better in all respects: the '94 is not quite as monolithic and it has a bit more personality. It has that beautiful complexity, bolder flavor (not that this is dull!) and caressing texture. Maybe this 1997 is just too young! As with the '94, though, it is dramatically better with air. It changes into something impressive over a few days whereas it started as just very good. It took 3 days, but it eventually overtook the 1994 in flavor, too. They are both very fine examples of maturing LBVs, both quite lovely with plenty of life left, but I do have to give this the edge. Drink: 2015-2035.

Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Port 1994 – 92 points

The 1994 Late Bottled Vintage Port is an old-vines field blend aged in used Portuguese 9,000-liter tanks. It was bottled in October 1998. This is just loaded with personality. If you're comparing to Vintage Port, this doesn't have the same concentration, of course. For that matter, it doesn't have the concentration of Crasto's own 1997 or 2004 LBVs reviewed as part of the vertical this issue. All that said, this is rather amazing in most respects. It opened understated, though some hours later it seemed rather brilliant. Sweet and soft on opening, it had a few mature nuances and hints of chocolate that became fresher and far more vibrant as it woke up, not to mention more transparent and flavorful. It caressed the palate with only moderate tannins. I enjoyed it initially and I loved it eventually. Tasting it at 9 a.m. was fun. Refrigerating it and coming back at 6 p.m. was an experience worth repeating. The next day it was simply wide awake and bursting with flavor, fresh and lively, if thinning a bit in the mid-palate. If it is not quite as fresh and vibrant as, say, Crasto's 1997, that is only relative as it gives no hint of cracking up and it seems to keep getting fresher as it airs out. If you're a fan of the harmony that maturing wines can develop, this is a beauty. I have to admit that I may like this better than the last Vintage Port I had from Crasto. The last sip was far superior to the first–completely delicious at age 20. It may last longer than I think, but we'll see where we are when we get there. Drink: 2015-2024.

Quinta do Crasto, which traces its roots back to the 17th century, was purchased by Constantino de Almeida, a partner in the Port house of Constantino, in 1910. ln 1981, Constantino de Almeida’s granddaughter Leonor (“Tita”) and her husband Jorge Roquette took over the Quinta, determined to restore and revitalize the family estate. Following the change in Portuguese law (allowing single quintas to bottle and export wine), Crasto has been producing and exporting table and port wines since 1994. The perseverance and commitment of the Roquette family has restored Quinta do Crasto to its rightful status as one of the great family estates of the Douro.

Located in the heart of the Cima Corgo, midway between Régua and Pinhão, Quinta do Crasto is officially classified as an ‘A’ grade vineyard property. The estate is predominantly south-facing slopes extending from the banks of the Douro river up to an altitude of nearly 600 meters (2,000 feet). Vineyards are mostly planted on terraces carved from the schist, the characteristic slate-like bedrock of the Douro. The Quinta combines state-of-the-art vinification technology with traditional foot treading method, accomplished in granite tanks called lagares.

Annual Production: 68.000 cases (Port and Douro wines)/816,000 bottles

Varieties Cultivated: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Francisca, Sousão, Rufete, Arinto, Rabigato and another 40 different varieties planted from old vines.

Located on the right bank of the Douro River, between the towns of Régua and Pinhão, Quinta do Crasto is a property of 130 hectares, 70 of which are planted with vines. Nestled on a privileged location in the Douro Demarcated Region, Quinta do Crasto has belonged to the family ofLeonor and Jorge Roquette for over a century and like all the great properties of the Douro it dates back to ancient times - the name "Crasto" is derived from the Latin word "castrum", which means "Roman fort".

The family also has two other properties: Quinta do Querindelo, with 10 hectares of old vines, and Quinta da Cabreira, in the Upper Douro, with 114 hectares of vines.

The large investments made over the past few years have seen considerable advancements in the reorganisation of the vineyards and the implementation of modern equipment in the winery. This work has resulted in a great selection of top-quality wines, including blended wines (Crasto, Crasto Superior and Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines), single varietal wines (Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional), single vineyard wines (Vinha da Ponte and Vinha Maria Teresa), and special category of Port wines (Finest Reserve, LBV and Vintage). Despite the use of state-of-the-art winemaking technology, Quinta do Crasto maintains its traditional foot treading method, carried out in large granite tanks called "lagares".

The completion of this phase of investment and the passion for making exceptional wines has contributed to Quinta de Crasto´s growing national and international reputation.