2003 Maria Theresa

The 2003 Vinha Maria Teresa is part of this issue's vertical. It has declined just a bit. I still say this was one of the nicest 2003s I had seen in Douro. It was completely sensational in its youth, a wine to just ogle endlessly. Yes, it's a bit different in the lineup. With age now, it's actually the eccentric in this lineup. Just comparing it to the 2001, the prior year in the vertical, it seems like a completely different wine, much less lifted and focused, but richer, very ripe and a bit flat. That's the vintage. The tannins have not completely resolved, either, but on the good side of the ledger, this does seem less angular than the 2001. The fleshy mid-palate here absorbs the power rather well. It has many fine points, too. Still seductive and caressing in texture and flavor, it has a sumptuous, warm feel--but not heat. The nose seems a bit too ripe, but the palate is much, much better. I loved this on opening even now, but it does lose some ground in the lineup largely because it didn't develop quite as well as some of its siblings. As the expressive (unbelievably delicious) young fruit has faded a bit with age and the wine has calmed down, it just is not quite as interesting as when I first saw it. That was always a possibility because that exuberant young fruit was what this was all about. That said, overall it is still pretty fine and rather delicious. It isn't going to win prizes for the most intellectual or best balanced Crasto ever made, but it is still awfully good and rather sensual. Still youthful in some respects, it should be fine for the next decade or so. Exercise some caution, though, because this unusually decadent Maria Teresa may not have the freshness to help preserve it for the longer haul. Let's see where we are at the next stop, or better yet, time to dive in.