Quinta do Crasto

Miguel Roquette

HISTORY With over three centuries of accumulated tradition, the Douro is indisputably one of the great wine valleys of the world. Port, that rich, reassuring fortified wine which stimulates the senses and captures imaginations, has shaped this remote and mountainous region bringing it international respect and renown. The cornerstone of the Douro region has long been the individual farm or Quinta'. Until recently Quintas were unheard and unsung, relying on larger shippers to take their Wines to the outside world. Quinta do Crasto, one of the most spectacularly situated of all properties in the Douro, was among the first Quintas to break out on its own. Owned and run by the Roquette family, Crasto has quickly established a world-wide reputation for the quality of both its Ports and red Douro wines. Attention to detail at every level from husbandry in the vineyards through careful handling of the grapes and selection of the wine has brought deserved success to Quinta do Crasto, earning it the accolade of Red Wine of the Year at the 1997 lnternational Wine Challenge. As a new century dawns, the reputation of the Douro Quinta has never been higher. Quinta do Crasto has been owned by the same family for over a century but like so many of the great wine estates in the Douro, its origins are lost in time. The name 'Crasto' is thought derive from the Portuguese word 'castro' (Latin Castrum) which signifies a Roman fort. ln support of this, Roman rings and coins have been found nearby. Standing on the promontory with its commanding view of the river, it is not hard to imagine why the Romans would choose to occupy such a strategic site. References to Quinta do Crasto date as far back as the early seventeenth century, long before the Douro became the world's first demarcated wine region in 1756. A date on the main gate to the property reads 1615. The earliest terraces to be carved from these steep, schistous hillsides produced cereals rather than wine. Vines were relegated to secondary status growing from holes in the retaining terrace walls known as “pilheiros”, examples of which can still be seen at Crasto. Quinta do Crasto was included in the first “feitoria”, the register of properties producing wines of the finest quality. A sturdy granite pillar dated 1758 marking the geographical boundary of the “feitoria” can be seen at the Quinta. The property also appears on Baron Forrester's 1848 map of the Douro along with the neighboring Quinta da Sobreira which has since been integrated into Crasto. Following the devastation wreaked on the Douro by phyiloxera in the 1870s, vineyard yields were reduced to an extent where shippers were compelled to blend wines from a number of different properties - many prominent Quintas like Crasto were to lose their independent status as a result. ln 1910 Quinta do Crasto was bought by Constantino de Almeida, a partner in the Port house of Constantino. Recently returned from Brazil, Sr. Constantino was responsible for making improvements to the property, building the present winery or “adega” in 1923. The colonial-style house at Crasto with its distinctive veranda is thought to be Brazilian inspired. ln 1981, Constantino de Almeida's granddaughter Leonor ('Tita') and her husband Jorge Roquette took control of the Quinta determined to restore and revitalize the family estate. They were helped by a change in the legislation in 1986 which, for the first time since the 1930s, permitted Quintas to export wine in their own right. Many Douro Quintas have found it difficult to enter a market dominated by large shippers with their well-known brands. But following a heavy investment program in the early 1990s, Jorge and Tita Roquette, helped by their two sons Miguel and Tomás, have succeeded where many others have failed. Quinta do Crasto has now been restored to its rightful status as one of the great top family estates of the Douro.   Located in the heart of the Cima Corgo, mid-way between Régua and Pinhão, Quinta do Crasto is officially classified as an 100% 'A' grade vineyard property. The estate covers 130 hectares of predominantly' south facing slope extending from the banks of the river up to an altitude of nearly 600 meters. Vineyards covering 70 hectares are mostly planted on terraces carved from the schist, the characteristic slate-like bedrock of the Douro which allows the vine roots to penetrate deep in search of water. A narrow promontory jutting out into the river forms the backbone of the Quinta with a chapel, the house, the cellar or “armazem” (warehouse) and the “adega” (winery) arranged end-to-end in a line along the crest of the ridge. On either side graceful old terraces with their traditional retaining walls slope down towards the river. These old, mixed vineyards with vines up to ninety years old are still prized for their low yields and the high quality of the fruit. Above the small road which divides the Quinta, newer terraces known as “patamares” have been created since 1986 and batch-planted with the five principal Douro grape varieties - Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão. Jorge Roquette was an early enthusiast for vertical planting (the so called 'vinha ao alto' or 'up and down') and in 1981, Crasto became the first property in the Douro to adopt this method of cultivation. At the summit of the Quinta, a further ten hectares of vineyard have recently been planted to replace the “murtorios”, old terraces which were abandoned following the outbreak of phylioxera in the latter years of the nineteenth century.