TN: 2006 Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva Old Vines (Portugal,

WINE TALK
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  • 2006 Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva Old Vines - Portugal, Douro (6/7/2010)
    I had opened a 2005 Alcina Syrah that was, well, lets just say one of the worst wines I’ve had in a long time. So after a major disappointment I opened the cellar and this bottle was staring me in the eye, just screaming to be opened. Consumed over several hours, this initially started with a lot of black currants, vanilla, and fair amount of tannins. About 30 minutes later the fruit really closed up, it got very dusty, and leaned out. Then about one hour later that fruit came back out to play and this was opened for business. I really enjoyed the balance of subtle dark fruit, dusty tannins, a dash of tar, and just a hint of spice on the full finish. More restrained than some other vintages of this wine allowing a more classic Douro wine profile to come through. It was also very interesting to see this go through several stages over the course of drinking it. I would either recommend decanting for at least two hours (or more) before drinking or leaving this in the cellar for another year or two.
    91 points
    6/7/10 (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Nice note, here I am still holding on to some previous vintages.

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So am I. I have one bottle left of the 2002, which is probably best consumed sooner rather that later. I’ve had a 2000 Reserva (before they called it “Old Vines or Vinha Velha”) and it was interesting to see the big stylistic changes that have taken place in this as Crasto has gotten more experience in making Douro wines.