jamie goode's wine blog: Crasto 2003

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Crasto 2003


Off to Bordeaux tomorrow for a day trip, tasting a nice array of 2005s. Problem is, I have to leave at 04:30 am. Ouch. Should be in bed now, but I need to take a bath this evening to avoid waking the family and RTL tomorrow morning on my way out.

Tonight I'm drinking Quinta do Crasto 2003 Douro (£6.99 Adnams). It's very drinkable, with ripe, sweet dark fruits providing the gratification, and subtly green, tarry tannic structure providing a nice counter. There's nothing terribly heavy or serious about this wine, and the bright plummy, slightly sappy fruit is really appealing. This is a wine for current drinking that has a hint of the new world to it, but also speaks (albeit rather softly) of its Douro origins. Great value, and recommended at this price. Very good+ 87/100

Crasto is pictured above, from my first visit to the Douro in 2002.

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6 Comments:

At 11:31 PM, Blogger Salil said...

Wow - absolutely stunning shot there.

I'd happily go there for the view alone, forget the wine.

 
At 1:59 AM, Blogger Paul Tudor said...

Apparently Crasto's swimming pool is located right at the tip of one of the promontories. It has always been a dream of mine to get there... Actually just getting to Europe one day would be a great start!

 
At 9:53 AM, Anonymous Doug said...

I agree with Salil, what a great photo. Funnily enough, I've been learning a lot about the Douro recently, thanks to another wine blog I came across. Looks like I have two to read now. Two weeks ago, I didn't even know there were wine blogs. (Since I'm not here to advertise, I'll only mention the name of the other blog if someone asks.)

 
At 10:43 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

Salil, glad you like it. I can hardly take credit - just had to point the camera. You should visit the Douro. From the UK - £50 ryanair flight to Porto, plus £8 trainfare to Pinhao, plus cheap taxis to Douro Quintas. It's accessible.

Doug, do tell!

Paul, there's a picture of me by the Crasto pool on this page:

http://www.wineanorak.com/douro6crasto.htm

I didn't swim though - it was an unseasonally cool Douro May when I visited.

Europe: you could get a return flight to London for £500 and then spend relatively little on a combination of budget airline fares and car hire and cheap hotels - and have a mind blowing experience.

 
At 1:35 AM, Blogger Paul Tudor said...

Jamie

I was given grief by several people for not coming to London in November to pick up my certificate (which I still do not have, incidentally.) Pretty unfair, I feel. My partner was not keen for me to go alone, and for the whole family to come to London for a single ceremony seemed outrageously expensive. It really is not fair on them, as I already spend a great deal of time in Australia.

The cheapest return flight to London would be around 650 quid from this end.

As it is, we had a great time in Melbourne and Adelaide in January, with relatively few, but excellent winery visits.

 
At 12:32 PM, Blogger Jan-Tore Egge said...

I've been wondering about that Crasto swimming pool: are they open to the general public? Do they have rooms, etc.? (I couldn't get the info from their web site.)

 

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