RATINGS/SCORES:
Robert Parker- 91 Rating
********VERY VERY LIMITED
The 2005 rated 95 Spectator as well
as #3 of the top 100 wines of 2008.
The 2006 has not yet been rated by them.
This wine is UNBELIEVABLE!
(Product description)
 
UNIT SIZE: 750.00 ml
VARIETAL: Proprietary Blend
VINTAGE: 2006
COUNTRY: Portugal
REGION: Douro

Quantity: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
 

Product Description:

Quinta do Crasto Old Vines Reserva 2006

By Robert Parker

2006 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines
A Proprietary Blend Dry  Red Table wine from Douro, Portugal  

Review by Mark Squires
Wine Advocate # 180 (Dec 2008)
Rating: 91
Drink 2008 - 2016
The 2006 RESERVA OLD VINES is usually one of the Douro’s best bargains. In most years it is competitive with Crasto’s pricier offerings. This year, although the price has crept up, it is still a bargain as it might well be the best of Crasto’s lineup, as good or better than anything else, yet about a fourth of the Maria Teresa’s price and less than half of the Touriga Nacional’s price. The structure here is impressive for a 2006, the wine showing good grip and intensity, with that lush texture and sweet fruit this bottling usually displays. As with most 2006s, there are moments when you wonder if the finish is quite what it should be and if it will hold as well in the cellar as earlier, better years. It certainly seems leaner and more compact than the ’04 and ’03, for instance. Many of those questions were answered the next day, when it drank beautifully and was still evolving. This is an impressive effort in the context of this vintage. Drink now-2016. Importer: Broadbent Selections, San Francisco, Ca.; (415) 931-1725.

By quintadocrasto.pt/uk

RESERVA OLD VINES

Wine from parcels of old, low yielding vines with up to 30 different grape varieties are kept back for ageing in French and American oak barrels for up to 18 months. A high proportion of the grapes used in the blend are foot trodden in lagares. The wine may be drunk soon after its release but has the depth and concentration to develop in bottle over the long term. It is a complex, powerful wine with great intensity and a richly textured palate. It is always bottled without any fining or filtration.

RESERVA Old Vines – 2006

Grape Variety : Old Vines - mixed plantings (among 25 to 30 different grape varieties).

Age of vines: 70 years

Vineyard exposure: East/ South

Soil: Terroir Schist

Appellation: Douro

Year: 2006

Alcohol: vol %: 14,5%

Vinification Techniques:  

Grapes are hand picked and transported to the winery in small plastic crates. Before destemming they are put on a conveyor belt in order to carefully select the best quality fruit for the fermentation. The fermentation is carried out in open plunging tanks along with a number of specially designed fermentation vessels which enhance the mouth feel of the wine. Near completion of primary fermentation the skins are pressed with a basket press in order to extract soft tannins from the skins with all pressing combined with the free run.

Ageing in wood: 18 months in 225 litres barrels. 85% French oak and 15% American oak.

Bottling: April 2008.

77.420 Bottles (0,75 L).

6.750 Bottles (0,375 L).

1.665 Bottles (1,5 L).

Tasting:

Colour: Brick Red

Aroma: Intense and lifted oak aromas of cigar box, tobacco leaf, spices, cedar and vanilla combine with fresh dark berries and ripe blood plums .

Palate: A rich full and round palate of great balance. Displaying rich Douro berry fruit characters with integrated oak tannins with a great length of finish

Winemakers: Dominic Morris and Manuel Lobo