The 2010 Touriga Nacional was aged for 16 months in new French oak and bottled in April, 2012. It comes in at 14% alcohol. If you appreciate grace, finesse and harmony, this will be exactly what you want. Despite its subtle opening, this tightened and then showed the ability to evolve constantly in the glass, not becoming truly expressive of the grape for a couple of hours. When I retasted it from a fresh, newly opened bottle a few days later, it was equally impressive for its focus and persistence, while showing gorgeous and classic floral notes and intensity of flavor on the finish. However, it was not until Day 2 when it actually sealed the deal. On Day 2, it was remarkably subtle and graceful on first sip and, yes, a bit compact and restrained. Then, the very fine aromatics expressive of the grape broke through. That was worth the price of admission. The finesse makes it lovely and a pleasure to drink. It is the type of wine that you’ll want more of as your glass empties. It drinks effortlessly, yet it is interesting all the while. It finished with bursts of flavor, slightly tinged by oak at the moment and nicely supported by a well-integrated backbone. Its balance is impeccable. This, along with the Vinha da Ponte, is Crasto’s statement for the vintage. It is quite unevolved at the moment, but it is easy to get to like even now. However, take note: despite its elegant beginning and graceful style, there is a lot going on here. Crasto’s style will not burn your palate out with astringency, but that said, considering the price and availability of this bottling, do yourself a favor and cellar it a few years. Let it become more expressive. It will show much closer to peak around 2016-2018. There were 10,400 bottles produced. Drink now-2026.
Crasto is not the only Douro producer that had a nice 2010 vintage – a year reputed to be difficult. However, Crasto is surely one of those that overachieved in it. Having seen these as a group three times now in various places and contexts, I feel confident in saying that there isn’t much to argue about here. All pros and cons considered, they aren’t much if at all off of their normal pace, although they sometimes lean a little more to the finesse side of the equation. With this most recent tasting, they also demonstrated the ability to evolve in the glass, change and improve significantly. The upper level wines were all retasted the next day as well and held their own beautifully. Particularly impressive – the lower level 2010s also seemed to show exceptionally well and offer a lot of value for the money. There wasn’t much compromise there at all.
Importer: Broadbent Selections, San Francisco, Ca.; (415) 931-1725
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