Vinha Maria Teresa, Quinta do Crasto 2016

The 2016 Vinha Maria Teresa, a field blend from centenarian vines, was aged for 20 months in new oak (90% French, 10% American). It comes in at 14.5% alcohol. This was not tasted with the 2015 this issue, but both were in relatively close proximity. For the moment, this seems more spectacular. With wines at this level, only the future will tell us what the ultimate answer is, but this seems on track to be one of Crasto's greatest Maria Teresas, which also means it might be one of its greatest wines ever.

After some six hours of double decanting, this proceeded to evolve brilliantly in the glass for a couple of more hours, getting better in every 15-minute increment. Aromatic, sexy and chock-full of flavor, this never becomes generic and over the top. It also pays attention to precision, structure and balance. There is a surprising amount of steel underneath (Maria Teresa, for all of its flavor, is never just a fruit-bomb style) and plenty of grip on the big, big finish. The balance is good enough so that the power never detracts from its sexy demeanor. It's not ready. You'll want to drink it anyway.

My first impression: sensational. My second: Let's see what it does with a couple of years in the cellar. It was only in bottle about 90 days when seen—and recently shipped to boot, so some "prove it" time in the cellar is certainly warranted. Those are factors that tend to bring out my cautious side. However, it is fair to say the future looks very bright. Or sensational. To get a really good look at it, and not waste your scarce bottles, I'd suggest coming back around 2026, more or less. (It won't even be released until sometime in 2020, so call this a preview.) There were 4,747 bottles produced, plus some large-format bottles. Drink 2023-2048.