TN: 1995 Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional Douro

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Andy Velebil
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TN: 1995 Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional Douro

Post by Andy Velebil »

Decanted about 1 hour, then consumed over a couple hours there after. I've had several bottles of this wine over the years and this had the least amount of bricking in the color of any of them. A nose of beef bullion and cherries. The palate showed mostly mature notes of iodine and beef bullion, with dried cherries mixed in. A bit linear as a result of being just made of one grape, Touriga Nacional. Still just a touch of unresolved tannins which were well placed. A moderate finish similar to the palate rounded off a very nice, and best showing, of this wine I've had. Being a single varietal it's now fully mature and I wouldn't recommend aging for too much longer. IIRC, this was the first vintage of this wine produced.
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Mahmoud Ali
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Re: TN: 1995 Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional Douro

Post by Mahmoud Ali »

Thanks for the notes Andy. This wine interests me because I have bottles of the '99 Touriga. I've only had it once, a few years ago, and at the time it was somewhat monolithic and un-evolved, though not very tannic. I have no experience with old Touriga Nacionals so I have no idea how it is supposed to evolve and hence any tasting note is useful. Your 20 year-old bottle seems to have done well so it gives me some confidence for the '99 though I have to admit I do not know the relative merits of the two vintages.

Mahmoud.
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Andy Velebil
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Re: TN: 1995 Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional Douro

Post by Andy Velebil »

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Thanks for the notes Andy. This wine interests me because I have bottles of the '99 Touriga. I've only had it once, a few years ago, and at the time it was somewhat monolithic and un-evolved, though not very tannic. I have no experience with old Touriga Nacionals so I have no idea how it is supposed to evolve and hence any tasting note is useful. Your 20 year-old bottle seems to have done well so it gives me some confidence for the '99 though I have to admit I do not know the relative merits of the two vintages.

Mahmoud.
I've had the 1999, though it's been quite some time ago. From what I recall (don't have my notes) it was more youthful than this 1995. The larger problem isn't so much the two vintages, but the experience making top end Douro wines. 1995 was the very early days for the majority of the Douro in making, or should I say trying to make, top end wines. I'm also of the opinion that most single varietal wines won't age well in the very long term. So far what I've seen with Touriga Nacional is it becomes rather linear, or one-dimensional, as it gets some decent age on it. That may change as wine making improves and wine makers learn what areas of their Quinta produce better and more complex aging wines. And while some may say the early to late 2000's are a good example to look at, I disagree. A lot of Douro wines in that period were over oaked and that oak is what's propping them up. I don't see a good many of them remaining balanced as they get older (Though I do think the wines made up of a number of different grapes will fair better than single varietal ones will).
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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