Quinta do Crasto Douro Touriga Nacional 2011
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Lively and deep in colour with intense ripe fruit aromas and notes of oak. Soft and round in the palate with everything is in balance. Long and spicy finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Very suave and silky, this is filled with fresh blueberry, boysenberry and cocoa powder flavors that are fresh and juicy, with notes of hot stone, cedar, paprika and dark chocolate on the lush, creamy finish. Drink now through 2020. 775 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Touriga Nacional was sourced from two plots, each of which was fermented separately. The southern plot was aged in medium toast, new French oak for 16 months. The northern plot was aged in light toast, new French oak for 18 months. The final blend was a barrel selection between the two. It comes in at 14.5% alcohol. As I often say, this may be the best performance yet with this bottling. For me, I want Touriga that is graceful in the mid-palate (compare the burlier Tinta Roriz here), built to age, and crisp and aromatic, without going overboard. This seems to handle all of the above, although #2, ageworthiness, isn’t likely to imitate the stern and powerful products we often see in Dao. Its only flaw is temporary – a bit too much oak showing just now. That was pretty much cured simply by holding it until the next day. A few years of cellaring should resolve that easily. It feels full in the mouth on first attack, and then becomes remarkably graceful. Harmonious and impeccably balanced, it has a fresh feel, with well-integrated tannins and balanced aromatics, even though it is beautifully fragrant. It has none of the nose-wrinkling qualities Touriga can get if it goes overboard or becomes overripe and a bit funky. It is just floral and delightful. With some 3 hours of aeration, it woke up and showed wonderfully sensual expressiveness. I had some early reservations. That ended them. It was lovely, fresh and crisp the next day as well. There were 9,300 bottles produced. Drink 2016-2027.
Other Vintages
2016-
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James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker
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Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
James
Suckling
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Wine
Spectator
Nestled on a privileged location in the Douro, Quinta do Crasto is one of the oldest winemaking estates in the region – the name ‘Crasto’ is derived from the Latin word ‘castrum’, which means ‘Roman fort’. The first known references to Quinta do Crasto can be traced back to 1615, long before the Douro became the world’s first Demarcated Wine Region in 1756. In the early 1900s, Quinta do Crasto was purchased by Constantino de Almeida, the founder of the famous Constantino Port house. Today, his granddaughter, Leonor Roquette, and her husband Jorge Roquette own and manage the estate, together with their sons, Miguel and Tomás. The Roquette family has invested tremendous time, attention, and resources to rebuild and expand the vineyards and facilities to produce top quality Port and Douro table wines. Vineyard mapping, DNA-matched replanting, a new state-of-the-art wine cellar and centuries of tradition mean that no detail in the winemaking and vineyard management is overlooked.
Quinta do Crasto produces different styles of port and table wines each year. Together with their winemakers and their entire team, they seek to produce year after year wines that display the unique and beautiful characteristics of the Douro, through a tireless devotion to tradition, integrity and excellence.
Gaining great popularity for its bold but beautifully aromatic dry red wines, Touriga Nacional is the noblest variety in Port wine. Most likely originating from the Dão region, today it grows throughout the Douro Valley as well. Somm Secret—As many as 80 grape varieties can be used to make Port wine, each contributing something unique to the resulting blend. Touriga Nacional adds great color, tannins and aromatics.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.