The 2007 VINHA DA PONTE, from 90 year old vines, seems to me to be the most successful of Crasto’s wines this year, and it is one of the most interesting wines in the Douro’s 2007 vintage. A bit too oaky on opening, it also shows firm tannins and serious grip on the finish. Its velvety texture is sensual and the fruit is delicious, rich and opulent, yet well supported by those firm tannins. It drank better the next day, noting that the oak was still a bit troublesome. As with all of the young wines here, the oak does need to integrate better for this score to be justified. This wine, with a serious backbone that keeps getting more serious with air, should have a long enough life span so that the oak can integrate well, and it has the potential to be great. It seems to me to have just a bit more of an upside than the Reserva Old Vines, although the Reserva will likely drink better young. All that said, given the price here, one has to note that the Reserva Old Vines holds up to this bottling, and it comes in at a fraction of the price. In this economy, many find it necessary to trade down. In this vintage, it is easy to trade down, both at Crasto and elsewhere in the Douro, and do quite well. Drink 2011-2027. Crasto, on every short list for “best of Portugal,” had an awfully nice vintage this year. The Old Vines Reserva is one of the best intersections of price and quality in this report, and the Vinha da Ponte is a strong “wine of the vintage” candidate.Importer: Broadbent Selections, San Francisco, Ca.; (415) 931-1725.

Gorgeously impressive wine, super-rich, balanced by acidity, juicy, concentrated red stone fruits, mulberries and dark chocolate. It is a powerhouse of ripe fruit, dark, ready to age for six years and more. One downside: high alcohol.——R.V.(11/1/2010)—— 93