Region | |
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Subregion | Portugal |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Quinta do Crasto
The 2017 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. The final blend comes from the best-performing barrels. This was only in bottle about a month when tasted. This doesn't quite have the power of the Tinta Roriz, but it is only a small step behind. Yet the power is beautifully controlled. It never seems too astringent, even if burly at times. Of course, Maria Teresa always has beautiful structure. The key to this bottling is typically its personality, its lively fruit, its aromatics. The fruit this year is beautiful, delicious, very ripe and lingering on the gripping finish. It has focus and potential, but it certainly needs a lot of time. Could it be a little livelier and more lifted? Maybe. It might be a bit darker in flavor this year, more nuanced with plums, which became more obvious as it opened when retasted the next day. But I suspect most will like this just the way it is because it is awfully delicious. The next day it was still gripping and very long on the finish. It is on track to be another great Maria Teresa, the only question being how great. For that, we will need a little cellar time. Although it may well wind up approachable earlier, you'd be advised not to waste this small-production wine; give it a few years of rest, at least. Then, it should be a 30-year wine, more or less. That's something we'll have to check on as time goes on. There were just 6,555 bottles produced, plus some large-format bottles. 2023 - 2045