Crasto, Douro 2020

This Douro estate has belonged to the family of Leonor and Jorge Roquette for over a century, but it dates back much further: the word ‘crasto’ comes from the Latin ‘castrum’, meaning Roman fort, and there are records of this estate as early as 1615.

Husband and wife Jorge and Leonor have been in charge since the 1980s, and their sons Miguel and Tomás are now involved as well. Together they manage 70 hectares of vineyards on the right bank of the Douro river, which lay on terraces of schist soils. Most of the vines are over 20 years old, but the oldest date back over 100 years, and their grapes go to make up a special bottling under the Reserva Old Vines label.

The grapes are local Douro varieties, including tinta roriz, touriga nacional, touriga franca and tinta barocca for the reds, and gouveio, roupeiro and rabigato for the whites.

Investment in recent years has seen important updates both to vineyard organisation and winery technology – although the team still proudly upholds the tradition of crushing some of the grapes by foot in granite lagares!

On the whole, however, much more modern techniques are used, with wines fermented and matured in a variety of temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks for a fresher, fruitier style.

The estate is a popular wine tourism attraction, helped in part by its stunning swimming pool with panoramic views of the vineyards, and offers a variety of activities for visiting oenophiles.