I opened a 2006 Portal Grande Reserva and a 2008 Oscar's on Christmas Day along with a host of other wines. The Portal finished 2nd to a 2005 Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills Reserve Syrah.
Roy Hersh wrote:2009 Crasto Douro red and also the 2009 Quinta do Crasto Old Vines Reserva. Both yummy!
I've been real happy with the improvements of the basic Crasto Douro. Was never a big fan of it until the 2008 vintage when it made a big upswing in quality and the 2009 continued that.
Andy Velebil wrote:
I've been real happy with the improvements of the basic Crasto Douro. Was never a big fan of it until the 2008 vintage when it made a big upswing in quality and the 2009 continued that.
I bought the Flor de Crasto recently and thought that was good for the money.
A bottle of 2009 Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional. It was of course very young, tightly coiled and packed full of dense fruit.
I had the regular Crasto a couple of years ago when they increased production by using non-quinta fruit but found it too sweet and "modern". Despite it's discounted price in Edmonton (C$14) I gave it a pass. I'm glad to hear that it has gotten better, and will try it again.
Mahmoud Ali wrote:A bottle of 2009 Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional. It was of course very young, tightly coiled and packed full of dense fruit.
I had the regular Crasto a couple of years ago when they increased production by using non-quinta fruit but found it too sweet and "modern". Despite it's discounted price in Edmonton (C$14) I gave it a pass. I'm glad to hear that it has gotten better, and will try it again.
Cheers................mahmoud
Yes do give them another chance. As I mentioned, 2008 and 2009 have seen a nice uptick in quality IMO. The Crasto Superior is a great value for the 2009 vintage.
No, unfortunately not. I have always like Pinalta but the three bottles I reviewed recently left me pretty cold.
Last night we had 2008 Quevedo Douro Red and a bottle of 2009 Crasto Douro Red. Unfortunately the former bottle was corked, but the Crasto was really fine and a stunning bargain. Tonight we will have its big brother the 2009 Quinta do Crasto Old Vines Reserva, which just might be the best version of this wine to date. I've had two other bottles recently, but tonight will be the deciding factor, not counting the cask sample at the Quinta. We will also have the 2007 Kopke Reserve DOC Douro red. Smells great as both are already in decanter to consume in five to six hours from the decant time.