Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional 2017

€ 59.20

This noble red wine from 100% Touriga Nacional is made only in the best vintages.

Deep purple in colour. The nose is fresh, showing seductive aromas of violet and wild berry fruit. Elegant on the palate, evolving into a wine of excellent volume, with a solid structure made of fresh, fine-textured tannins. This is an engaging wine with a fresh, lingering and perfectly balanced finish. Tremendous stuff.

Food pairing

A full, solid wine that suits rich food. This is a real winter warmer that fits perfectly with solid red meat and game dishes

Grapes: Touriga Nacional (100%)

The grapes, coming from the best Touriga Nacional plots of Quinta do Crasto, are brought to the winery in 22 kg plastic boxes where they undergo strict selection. After complete destemming and slight crushing, the juice is transferred to temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. Once the alcoholic fermentation is completed, the juice is gently pressed. Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels

The 2017 harvest will be recorded as the the earliest ever at Quinta do Crasto. An unusually warm and dry winter meant that the vines’ growth cycle began earlier than normal. Low rainfall continued throughout the cycle leading to moderate water stress and the vines had to naturally adapt to these

adverse weather conditions. Harvest began on 8 August, with the first white grapes. This was an important decision since it allowed us the desired levels of freshness and natural acidity. On 18 August, we started picking the red grapes at the Quinta da Cabreira vineyard in the Douro Superior subregion. We are able to irrigate the grapes on this property and this was instrumental in keeping the vines working in a well-balanced fashion and enabled the berries to achieve perfect ripeness. In late August, evening temperatures fell significantly, which helped finish of the ripening of the grapes. A period of warm days combined with cool nights yielded the perfect balance, so that the harvest of the first Quinta do Crasto red grapes could begin. Dry days in September ensured a

smooth harvest. The harvest wrapped up much earlier than normal, namely on 19 September. On balance, we can say that 2017 was a year of lower yields, with fewer bunches of smaller grapes, but that had excellent concentration and an optimal skin to pulp ratio. This was a challenging year for the viticulture and winemaking teams. We had to perfectly time the harvest to ensure maximum quality. 2017 will certainly go down in history as a year of exceptional wines.

Alcoholcontent

14,5%

pH: 3.57

Store & Serve

Store at a constant temperature of 15 ° C.

Serve and decant at 16 ° C

Drink from now until 15 years after harvest

Critics & Awards

4,3/5 vivino (63 ratings)

94/100 - Wine Enthusiast Roger Voss

Selected Touriga Nacional fruit has gone into this rich, perfumed wine. While still young, its black fruits are developing well, balancing density with elegance. The wine will be ready to drink from 2023

Tags: Quinta do Crasto - Douro