Deep tasting of Casa Ferreirinha and Quinta do Crasto Ports and Wines
Posted: 20:59 Wed 07 Jun 2017
On May 25, 2017 I was invited to a tasting with Miguel Roquette, owner of Quinta do Crasto, and Filipe da Mota Neves, Fine Wines Manager for Sogrape. Most wines were splash decanted and the later tasted ones (listed in order of tasting below) had more air time. This was a pretty quick tasting so these notes are just impressions with no scores. I'll break it down into a couple parts, so here's the first one. More wines and Ports will be in the next installment.
2015 Casa Ferreirinha Planalto Reserva Branco Douro
Crisp with good depth, citrus, hints of tropical fruits, passion fruit, solid finish. Year in and year out a good white.
2015 Crasto Branco Douro
Tart at first that quickly left by the third sip, medium bodied and a touch tight on opening, as it opens it gained in body and complexity with a slight waxy-ness and a long finish. This could age nicely in the mid-term.
2015 Crasto Superior Branco Douro
6 months of oak, clean fresh rose nose, awesome acidity, citrus, spices, very long finish. A solid white from Crasto.
2013 Crasto Superior Branco Douro
1st vintage of this wine, 6 months French oak with heavy toasted ends (subsequent vintages don’t have this). Deeper richer nose and fatter bodied with more oak still present. But it did have more depth and an amazing long finish. Still drinking great bit the excessive oak ends do leave their mark compared to newer vintages.
2014 Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande Rose Douro
Light, decent acid, nice body. A good QPR for those warm summer days.
2015 Casa Ferreirinha Papa Figos Douro
This is mostly Quinta da Leda fruit. Slight chemical nose at first, dusty light bodied palate and tannic on the finish. I’ve had this before and even though it’s not an expensive wine it needs a little decanting and this suffered a little without it.
2014 Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande Douro
1960 was the first release! Nose of plums. Well structured body with tannins, tar, and a moderately long finish. This uses old Barca Velha barrels to age in.
2014 Crasto Superior Douro
Dark fruit, young oak, this was tight and showing medium tannins. I’ve had this before as well and it wasn’t showing it’s best, I suspect a lack of decant.
2013 Crasto Superior Douro
Lighter fruit than 2014, more spices and cracked pepper, less depth but better symmetry than 2014 at the moment. I like this better. 70% used oak for one year.
2012 Crasto Superior Douro
More tar and spices than 2013. Palate had good texture and body but the finish drops a little. I suspect this is at prime now.
2009 Crasto Superior Douro
Well integrated, oakier than the others, bigger fruit but softer bodied.
2014 Casa Ferreirinha Callabriga Douro
The first tasting of it in the States. Uses a little new American oak, tannins well placed, medium bodied with spices and no protruding oak. Well made daily drinker.
2014 Casa Ferreirinha Quinta da Leda Douro
Touch of youthful oak, solid acid and typical young tannins, plenty of fruit that isn’t over ripe, very well made but still very young and needs a long decant or years in the cellar. Loved the spices on the long finish.
2011 Casa Ferreirinha Quinta da Leda Douro
Wow loved the spices that jumped out, great body, acid, and tannin backbones and of course the fruit too. A super long finish rounded out a super delicious wine. This will age wonderfully for many years.
2008 Casa Ferreirinha Quinta da Leda Douro
Not as intense at first as the 2011, though it has more tar and slightly softer tannins, less heat, and an incredibly long finish. This really opened in the glass and overtook the 2011 by a couple steps, as hard as that is to convey, and ended up being my favorite of the three right now. My god, this rocked!
2014 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines Douro
Typical young oak, tannic but well balanced with fruit and plums, nice minerality and a long finish. Year in and year out this wine is consistently great.
2013 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines Douro
Less intense fruit than 2014 but better spices, less oak and a longer finish. Right now I like this vintage a touch better than 2014…time will tell if that holds.
2012 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines Douro
Oakiest of all three, very tannic with medium intensity fruit, tar, pencil lead, and some vanilla. This seemed to be very closed from previous experiences with it.
2015 Casa Ferreirinha Planalto Reserva Branco Douro
Crisp with good depth, citrus, hints of tropical fruits, passion fruit, solid finish. Year in and year out a good white.
2015 Crasto Branco Douro
Tart at first that quickly left by the third sip, medium bodied and a touch tight on opening, as it opens it gained in body and complexity with a slight waxy-ness and a long finish. This could age nicely in the mid-term.
2015 Crasto Superior Branco Douro
6 months of oak, clean fresh rose nose, awesome acidity, citrus, spices, very long finish. A solid white from Crasto.
2013 Crasto Superior Branco Douro
1st vintage of this wine, 6 months French oak with heavy toasted ends (subsequent vintages don’t have this). Deeper richer nose and fatter bodied with more oak still present. But it did have more depth and an amazing long finish. Still drinking great bit the excessive oak ends do leave their mark compared to newer vintages.
2014 Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande Rose Douro
Light, decent acid, nice body. A good QPR for those warm summer days.
2015 Casa Ferreirinha Papa Figos Douro
This is mostly Quinta da Leda fruit. Slight chemical nose at first, dusty light bodied palate and tannic on the finish. I’ve had this before and even though it’s not an expensive wine it needs a little decanting and this suffered a little without it.
2014 Casa Ferreirinha Vinha Grande Douro
1960 was the first release! Nose of plums. Well structured body with tannins, tar, and a moderately long finish. This uses old Barca Velha barrels to age in.
2014 Crasto Superior Douro
Dark fruit, young oak, this was tight and showing medium tannins. I’ve had this before as well and it wasn’t showing it’s best, I suspect a lack of decant.
2013 Crasto Superior Douro
Lighter fruit than 2014, more spices and cracked pepper, less depth but better symmetry than 2014 at the moment. I like this better. 70% used oak for one year.
2012 Crasto Superior Douro
More tar and spices than 2013. Palate had good texture and body but the finish drops a little. I suspect this is at prime now.
2009 Crasto Superior Douro
Well integrated, oakier than the others, bigger fruit but softer bodied.
2014 Casa Ferreirinha Callabriga Douro
The first tasting of it in the States. Uses a little new American oak, tannins well placed, medium bodied with spices and no protruding oak. Well made daily drinker.
2014 Casa Ferreirinha Quinta da Leda Douro
Touch of youthful oak, solid acid and typical young tannins, plenty of fruit that isn’t over ripe, very well made but still very young and needs a long decant or years in the cellar. Loved the spices on the long finish.
2011 Casa Ferreirinha Quinta da Leda Douro
Wow loved the spices that jumped out, great body, acid, and tannin backbones and of course the fruit too. A super long finish rounded out a super delicious wine. This will age wonderfully for many years.
2008 Casa Ferreirinha Quinta da Leda Douro
Not as intense at first as the 2011, though it has more tar and slightly softer tannins, less heat, and an incredibly long finish. This really opened in the glass and overtook the 2011 by a couple steps, as hard as that is to convey, and ended up being my favorite of the three right now. My god, this rocked!
2014 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines Douro
Typical young oak, tannic but well balanced with fruit and plums, nice minerality and a long finish. Year in and year out this wine is consistently great.
2013 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines Douro
Less intense fruit than 2014 but better spices, less oak and a longer finish. Right now I like this vintage a touch better than 2014…time will tell if that holds.
2012 Quinta do Crasto Reserva Old Vines Douro
Oakiest of all three, very tannic with medium intensity fruit, tar, pencil lead, and some vanilla. This seemed to be very closed from previous experiences with it.