Quinta do Crasto estate spotlight
The official Quinta do Crasto institutional film walks this Douro estate, the same house that made this 2014 Vintage Port from old vines and stone lagares.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2014 Quinta do Crasto Vintage Port Portugal across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $34.43 and the average is $34.43. Our slash is $35.00.
2014 Quinta do Crasto Vintage Port Portugal
Manuel Lobo's old-vine Vintage Port from Crasto's stone lagares, wild berry and gum cistus, a 2014 you can open at thirty-five dollars.
The 2014 Vintage Port is an old-vine Douro field blend, foot-trodden in stone lagares and aged two years in large Portuguese oak: wild blackberry, gum cistus, soft spice, and compact tannin, now $35.
Traditional Vintage Port, already a decade in bottle
This is Crasto Port the old way: vines averaging more than 60 years on east- and south-facing schist terraces, whole clusters lightly crushed, foot-trodden in stone lagares, then grape spirit to stop the ferment. Two years in large Portuguese oak vats. Bottled April 2016 without fining or filtration. Wine Spectator 91. Ten years on, the wild berry and cistus are still vivid. This is the bottle that lets Vintage Port be a dinner wine, at thirty-five dollars.
The house
Quinta do Crasto's records run to 1615. Constantino de Almeida bought the estate in 1918. The Roquette family still owns it, Port and Douro table wine from the same terraces.
The wine
Old-vine field blend. Foot-trodden in stone lagares. Two years in large Portuguese oak. 20% ABV. Unfined and unfiltered.
The scores
Wine Spectator 91 on the 2014. Official sheet: concentrated wild berries, gum cistus, soft spice, compact finely textured tannins, long finish.
The drinker
Stand the bottle, then decant about two hours. Serve 63 to 65 F. Flourless chocolate cake or steak au poivre.
Wild berry, gum cistus, then compact tannin
The official 2014 technical sheet is opaque in color, with excellent aroma concentration: fresh berry fruit, gum cistus, and soft spice. The palate opens engaging, then fills with volume and a solid structure of fresh, compact, finely textured tannins. The finish is long, with a second wave of berry fruit in step with cistus.
Bottled in April 2016 after two years in vat, this Vintage Port has had a decade to move past its first primary rush. The sheet still reads as freshness and compact tannin, not tired sweetness.
Wild blackberry, dark berry, gum cistus, soft spice.
Excellent volume, 20% ABV, fresh compact finely textured tannins, balanced sweetness.
Long, aromatic, berry-driven. Decant about two hours. Serve 63 to 65 F.
Stone lagares, grape spirit, then two years in Portuguese oak
On the Quinta do Crasto 2014 Vintage Port sheet, old-vine grapes arrived in small boxes, were sorted, lightly crushed with stems, and foot-trodden in a traditional stone lagar. Grape spirit stopped fermentation and fortified the wine. It then spent two years in large Portuguese oak vats and was bottled without fining or filtration, so a light sediment may form.
Winemaker Manuel Lobo kept the extraction traditional where it matters. Foot treading gives color and tannin without tearing the skins. Large vats keep oak as a vessel, not a flavor.
Stand the bottle upright, then decant about two hours. Serve slightly cool. Chocolate deepens the fruit. Peppered steak makes the tannin feel fresher.
Four centuries above the Douro
Quinta do Crasto's Port story is written into the terraces, the lagares, and the old gate.
The earliest records of Quinta do Crasto and its wine date to 1615, long before the Douro became the world's first demarcated wine region in 1756. The name comes from the Latin castrum, a Roman fort.
Constantino de Almeida, founder of the Constantino Port house, bought the estate in 1918. His granddaughter Leonor Roquette and her husband Jorge, with sons Miguel and Tomas, still run it.
This 2014 Vintage Port carries that history through old vines, schist terraces, and the same stone lagares the house still uses.
Deep chocolate, or peppercorn and beef
Vintage Port can finish the evening or move to the savory side of the table. Chocolate echoes the berry. Pepper and browned beef make the tannin feel brighter.
Two plates. One flourless chocolate cake. One steak au poivre. Both can take this Port's fruit and compact tannin.
Stand the bottle upright. Decant about two hours. Serve 63 to 65 F.
Flourless Chocolate Cake
A dark, not-too-sweet cake that leaves the Port's berry fruit and spice vivid.
Why it works: Chocolate deepens the wine's richness while fresh tannin keeps the finish from feeling heavy.
View Recipe for flourless chocolate cake (opens in a new tab)
Steak au Poivre
Seared beef and peppercorn sauce turn Vintage Port into a bold savory pairing.
Why it works: Pepper and browned crust meet the wine's spice, while fat softens its compact tannins.
View Recipe for steak au poivre (opens in a new tab)Put this Vintage Port in the cart
Wine Spectator 91. Old vines, stone lagares, ten years in bottle. Thirty-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is Crasto Vintage Port for a table that wants the real thing opened, not merely admired.
