Quinta do Crasto Reserva Vinhas Velhas Douro Red Blend 2012

This discovery is one of Portugal's finest red wines from the Duoro Valley.  A rich, full and round red with a great finish.  Don't miss. 94 Points Wine Spectator:  "Powerful, rich and refined, with a lithe mouthfeel and flavors of boysenberry, sandalwood, macerated cherry and damson plum. Very minerally as well, with loads of spicy notes on the well-structured, lingering finish. Very elegant. Drink now through 2022. 7,750 cases made." 93 Points Robert Parker:  "The 2012 Reserva Old Vines, Crasto's familiar brand, is easily the best intersection of price and quality in Crasto's 2012s, although that is frequently true. It comes awfully close to being the best wine, too. It is a very fine performance in this restrained year. It was aged for 18 months in barriques (85% French). With more depth and persistence than any of the other bottlings Crasto submitted this issue, excepting only the Vinha da Ponte, it shows nice depth for a 2012, fine structure with persistence and tension on the finish and that crisp, invigorating air that Crasto's 2012s display. It is a creature of the vintage--but a very pretty creature it is. It is not as lush as some entrants in this brand or as deep, but few have had this lively feel to them. It is pretty delicious, too. It will be approachable young, but give it a couple of years if you can. It should also age well, given its acidity and real backbone. It is perhaps noteworthy that Crasto cut out three southern-facing vineyards from the blend this year, and also added in most of the fruit that would otherwise go to Maria Teresa, another of its specialty wines. There were 93,000 bottles produced....Crasto's 2012s are among the best I saw in 2012, a year that showed a lot of bright and refreshing wines, but not a lot of astonishing ones. They all have a theme in common. They are true to the vintage: crisp, invigorating, good acidity, not the best depth ever seen, but very lively. Overall, it is a charming and intensely flavorful group." Brix26 Inside Scoop:  Quinta do Crasto, which traces its roots back to the 17th century, was  purchased by Constantino de Almeida, a partner in the Port house of Constantino, in 1910. ln 1981, Constantino de Almeida’s granddaughter Leonor (“Tita”) and her husband Jorge Roquette took over the Quinta, determined to restore and revitalize the family estate. Following the change in Portuguese law (allowing single quintas to bottle and export wine), Crasto has been producing and exporting table and port wines since 1994. The perseverance and commitment of the Roquette family has restored Quinta do Crasto to its rightful status as one of the great family estates of the Douro. 

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