Quinta do Crasto Superior Syrah 2023
€ 25.50
| Producer | Quinta do Crasto |
| Region | Douro |
| Grapes | Syrah (97%), Viognier (3%) |
| Ageing | 16 months in French oak casks |
| Alcohol | 14.5%vol | pH: 3.66 |
| Serving | 16-18°C |
Crasto Superior Syrah 2023: flowers, ripe wild berries and fine spice.
Tasting note
Deep ruby. An expressive nose with intense floral notes, ripe wild berries and fine spice. Harmonious on the attack, then a serious wine with a compact structure of fine tannins, and an elegant, long finish. Fresh and elegant, with great ageing potential, made in limited quantities.
The story
The Superior wines take their name from the Douro Superior, where the grapes come from: Quinta da Cabreira, where Crasto planted 114 ha of new vineyards.
The wine ages for sixteen months in French oak casks.
2023 was an atypical year: a mild, wet winter, a very dry, warm spring and a hot summer with lots of rain in June and September. White grapes were picked from 10 August, the second earliest harvest at Crasto. The wines are balanced and elegant, with good colour and structure.
Food pairing
Excellent with hearty dishes of grilled or roast red meat, lamb and game. Also a wine to end a meal with.
The producer
Quinta do Crasto lies on the right bank of the Douro, between Régua and Pinhão, in the heart of the Cima Corgo. The quinta is recorded as early as 1615, and in 1918 the Port merchant Constantino de Almeida bought the estate. His descendants still own it: in the 1980s Leonor de Almeida and her husband Jorge Roquette began modernising the vineyards, and since 1994 Crasto has released its wines under its own name.
The vineyards lie on steep schist terraces, with many very old field-blend vines, such as Vinha da Ponte and Vinha Maria Teresa. Crasto also owns Quinta da Cabreira in the Douro Superior, the source of the Superior wines.