1985 Quinta do Crasto Vintage Port

[Andy Velebil]

Initially decanted about 4 hours, with a couple glasses leftover for the next day. Lighter in color with bricking. Very viscous and sweet with bing cherries and licorice. The tannins are fully resolved. A medium slightly warm finish is short on acidity to temper that sweetness. A rather delicate VP at this point in its evolution and one that is at its peak drinking window, if not a touch past.
88 Points

[Frederick Blais]

Interesting! I thought that the Crasto brand only started in the 90's...Do you know the story behind this?

[Andy Velebil]

Interesting! I thought that the Crasto brand only started in the 90's...Do you know the story behind this?

The back label says they were imported by Broadbent Imports (which is no longer their importer). A friend found them in 2009 in Las Vegas for $33.00/each. Other than that, I don’t know the story behind them.

[Phil W]

I also used to have a single bottle of Quinta do Crasto 1987 vintage port (here in the UK, if relevant) which I drank a few years ago - it was delicious.

[Frederick Blais]

Interesting! I thought that the Crasto brand only started in the 90's...Do you know the story behind this?

The back label says they were imported by Broadbent Imports (which is no longer their importer). A friend found them in 2009 in Las Vegas for $33.00/each. Other than that, I don’t know the story behind them.

I'll ask Barholomew and bring his answer here.

[Frederick Blais]

Here is what Bartholomew had to say :

There are some bottles of Quinta do Crasto from the 1800 but those were probably limited bottlings for the family. I became the importer of Quinta do Crasto in 1996 but we were selling wines from the 1985 vintage. At the time, Cristiano Van Zeller was managing the winery for the Roquette family. David Baverstock was the wine maker. He is now at Esporao. I first new David when I worked for the Symington family [1986-1995]. David was their winemaker or enologist. He always wanted them to make table wines but they refused. So he left at some point before me to become the winemaker for Quinta do Crasto because they allowed him to make table wines for them. He was not there as early as 1985 so I don't know who made that wine.

A few interesting things for me, I was not aware that David did work at Symington before joining Crasto and I was not aware that Christiano had any part in Crasto...