2006 Maria Theresa

The 2006 Vinha Maria Teresa is part of this issue's vertical. Considering that this is a pricey, specialty wine meant to be made only in appropriate years, it may have raised some eyebrows when Crasto released this in 2006, a rather weak vintage. It certainly seemed compact and restrained on release, very different than the typical run of Maria Teresa bottlings. That said, if I had to pick just one Maria Teresa right now in terms of drinking today, this would easily be my choice and I sure wouldn't suffer much. Of the group, it is the most evolved, the one that shows some maturity, some tertiary hints, some development and evolution--something besides just the pure sex appeal factor for which this bottling is famous. It is completely lovely and also a prime time wine, so don't misunderstand--it is maturing, but not dying. Don't look at the price tag and you'll find it's a wine that makes you pretty happy. It has plenty of power, too, and more than enough grip on the finish. Oh, and yes, this tightly wound Maria Teresa tastes awfully good, too. (Don't they all...) It does finish with a bit of astringency, ultimately, as it airs out. I suspect that isn't going away any time soon. This is a perfect food wine, though. I liked it a lot. It may go down as the worst Maria Teresa, but that's still pretty good.