Quinta do Crasto Vintage Port 2018
€ 48.50
| Producer | Quinta do Crasto |
| Region | Douro |
| Ageing | About 2 years in 20,000-litre vats, unfiltered |
| Alcohol | 20%vol |
| Serving | 16-18°C, decant and drink the same day Store lying down, at a constant temperature and away from direct light Can age for 20 to 30 years |
| Scores | 95/100 Wine Spectator |
Vintage Port 2018: ripe wild fruit, spice and cocoa, with 95 points from Wine Spectator.
Tasting note
Opaque. Excellent concentration, with ripe wild fruit, delicate spice and hints of cocoa. Powerful on the attack, with a firm structure of massive, high-quality tannins and freshness. A unique wine that shows the strength of Crasto’s terroir, with an almost endless finish.
The story
The grapes come from sixty-year-old vines and are strictly checked on the sorting table. With their stems they are lightly crushed and foot-trodden in a stone lagar, then fermentation is stopped with grape spirit. The Port ages for about two years in 20,000-litre Portuguese oak vats and is bottled without fining or filtration.
Food pairing
Ideal after a meal, with strong cheeses such as Stilton, Gorgonzola, Roquefort and Queijo da Serra. Also with fruit or chocolate desserts, and with a good cigar.
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.
Critics & Awards
95/100 Wine Spectator
4,4/5 Vivino (17 ratings)
