Quinta Do Crasto Touriga Franca Red 2019

94 Points - Robert Parker Notes from the Winemaker Produced exclusively from Touriga Franca grapes, Quinta do Crasto Touriga Franca is premium, single-varietal wine bottled solely in those years when the harvest reaches a high level of quality and excellence. Single-varietal Touriga Franca wines are rarely found. However, this is an emblematic Douro grape that is well adapted to the viticultural characteristics of the region and highly interesting oenologically speaking. It is a reliable variety that has the great virtue of producing low levels of alcohol in spite of the heat in a region such as the Douro. Despite these positive features, Touriga Franca is a challenging variety as it only achieves its true potential when it reaches perfect phenolic maturation. That is why the Quinta do Crasto Touriga Franca matures late, in other words, the grapes of this variety require a long time to reach the right and perfect ripeness. In order to achieve this, the grapes need to come into equilibrium, which only happens in a terroir with all the necessary conditions to produce a truly exceptional wine. Appellation Douro Viticultural Year A er 2017 and 2018 yields significantly below the decade average, 2019 proved to be much more generous and more in line with what we are used to at Quinta do Crasto. However, it was still a challenging year, with a dry winter and spring depleting the vines' necessary soil water reserves. We found, however, that in the months of June, July and August, the vines had well-balanced and healthy canopies, without great signs of water stress. We attributed this balance to the mild temperatures from May to late August — 5ºC lower than the previous 5-year average at Quinta do Crasto. This contributed positively to a slow and well-balanced ripening of the grapes during July and August. Exceptional levels of ripeness resulted. The 2019 harvest took place very calmly, with cold nights and hot, dry days that enabled picking at the ideal moment. The rain on 21 and 22 September was essential, as it helped to refine the ripening of later varieties, namely Touriga Franca. The 2019 harvest began with the first white grapes from Quinta do Crasto arriving to the winery on 26 August and finished on 11 October when the berries from the highest altitude vineyards came in. On balance, 2019 yielded highly expressive white wines, with excellent concentration and extraordinary freshness. Our red wines also reflect the equilibrium enjoyed during the vegetative cycle. They are highly complete wines, with vibrant aromas, excellent concentration, solid structure and, above all, they are well-balanced with excellent ageing potential. Grape Varieties 100% Touriga Franca Winemaking The grapes, coming from the best Touriga Franca plots of Quinta do Crasto, are taken to the winery in 22 kg plastic boxes and rigorously inspected on arrival. The grapes are then completely destemmed and slightly crushed. A er this, the juice is transferred to temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Once the alcoholic fermentation is completed, the grape are gently pressed. Ageing 18 months in French oak barrels. Tasting Note Deep purple in colour, this wine shows intense aromas of wild berry fruit in harmony with delicate notes of spice. Excellent volume on the palate, with a serious structure composed of fine-textured, lingering tannins. The finish is fresh and persistent. This is an enveloping wine that perfectly mirrors the typicity of the Touriga Franca grape variety.