Winemaker Notes
Crasto 10 Years Old Tawny Port is an aged tawny port that has been matured in Portuguese oak vats for an average of 10 years. Made from selected port wines from their best vineyards, this blend shows great complexity given by the older wines, with the younger wines bringing fresh fruit flavors and lively acidity. Excellent aroma complexity, with notes of honey, figs and fine spices. On the palate it is fresh and perfectly balanced. The finish is delicate, elegant and persistent.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This shows aromas of dried dates and a hint of caramel. A medium- to full-bodied palate with subtle caramel flavors, a discreet spark of acidity and a touch of oxidation. Pleasant and approachable.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Balanced between fruit flavors and wood aging, this Tawny Port is full of dried-fruit aromas that bring out touches of wood and nutmeg. It is ready to drink, but because it was bottled unfiltered, it will age further.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The youngest of the age-designated Ports is the NV Porto Tawny 10 Anos, which displays a bright orange color with some ruby tints and a peachy nose, reminiscent of some Oloroso Sherries. This comes in at 19.5% alcohol, with a pH of 3.51, 4.1 grams of acidity and 112 grams of sugar. It has a lightish mouthfeel and is relatively sweet and straightforward.
-
Wine Spectator
A soft, charming style, with a mix of jasmine, honeysuckle, white peach, dried mango and golden raisin notes laced up with a hint of praline through the finish.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.