TN: 2002 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines Douro

[Andy Velebil]

Upon opening this exhibited bright cherries and a woodiness that gave way a short time later becoming more mature and subdued. A soft texture, pomegranates keeping the tar and leather balanced, with a moderate amount tannins showing up late on the finish. The finish is short and simpler compared to other Reserva's from this decade but still medium in length and pleasurable. From a year that started off well and was basically ruined by rain during harvest this has held up well and is drinking nicely at the moment. Although if this bottle is representative, I don't really see this getting much better with further aging. Over the course of a couple hours the tannins became very chalky and dominated the finish which took on a tartness that left it a little out of balance. Still an enjoyable bottle but I'm afraid the tannins will outlive the fruit and throw this out of balance in a few years.
89 Points