Xisto Roquette and Cazes 2019
€ 72.50
| Producer | Quinta do Crasto |
| Region | Douro |
| Grapes | Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca |
| Ageing | 20 months in French oak (70% new) |
| Alcohol | 14.5%vol |
| Serving | 16°C, decant Store at a constant 15°C |
| Drinking window | Up to 15 years after the harvest |
Xisto 2019 by Roquette & Cazes: wild berries, toasted oak and cocoa.
Tasting note
Very dark core with an intense, bright violet-purple rim. An intense, complex aroma of fresh wild berries and soft toasted notes of oak and cocoa. Full and elegant, with fresh berries, soft tannins and a very long, intense finish.
The story
In 2002 the Roquette family of Quinta do Crasto and the Cazes family of Château Lynch-Bages in Bordeaux decided to pool their experience: the natural character of the Douro, combined with a century of experience in great Bordeaux. The winemakers are Daniel Llose (Lynch-Bages) and Manuel Lobo (Crasto).
Xisto is the top wine of Roquette & Cazes. The old vines grow on traditional patamares (two-row terraces) in the Cima Corgo and the Douro Superior. The grapes are hand-picked, destemmed and crushed, then ferment in conical stainless steel vats with rack-and-return. The wine then ages for twenty months in French oak (70% new).
Food pairing
Excellent with hearty dishes of grilled or roast red meat, Italian dishes and game.
The producer
Quinta do Crasto lies on the right bank of the Douro, between Régua and Pinhão, in the heart of the Cima Corgo. The quinta is recorded as early as 1615, and in 1918 the Port merchant Constantino de Almeida bought the estate. His descendants still own it: in the 1980s Leonor de Almeida and her husband Jorge Roquette began modernising the vineyards, and since 1994 Crasto has released its wines under its own name.
The vineyards lie on steep schist terraces, with many very old field-blend vines, such as Vinha da Ponte and Vinha Maria Teresa. Crasto also owns Quinta da Cabreira in the Douro Superior, the source of the Superior wines.