2021 Roquette & Cazes Red 6 x 0.75L Douro Region 6 Bottles WINEMAKERS: Daniel Llose (Château Lynch-Bages) & Manuel Lobo and Cátia Barbeta (Quinta do Crasto). AWARDS/RECOMMENDATIONS 94 Points, Revista Adega 17.5 Points, Vinho Grandes Escolhas 92 Points, Vinum Wine Magazine (2020 Vintage) 92 Points, Falstaff (2019 Vintage) WINE VARIETIES: Touriga Nacional (60%), Touriga Franca (25%) & Tinta Roriz (15%). VINIFICATION The grapes are hand-harvested and taken to the winery, where they are rigorously inspected. They are then destemmed and gently crushed. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel conic vats. Rack and return is performed during fermentation. This French technique enhances skin contact by pumping the juice back over the cap. This is followed by post-fermentation skin maceration, a technique widely used in Bordeaux wines, which allows for a very gentle extraction and a final refinement of the wine’s texture. The result is a concentrated, complex wine that is also elegant and stylish. About 18 months in French oak barrels. TASTING NOTES Deep ruby colour. Impressive nose, showing outstanding aroma intensity and complexity, with fresh red fruits and soft notes of fine spice. Elegant attack on the palate, evolving into a wine with a solid structure, made of velvet textured tannins. Engaging, with a balanced, fresh and persistent finish. A wine crafted using Bordeaux winemaking technology, but made from the traditionally Douro grape varieties Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, and which clearly reflects the identity of the Douro. SERVING Decant and serve it at 16-18 ºC. It’s a good match for savoury meat and game dishes, as well as elaborate Italian food. HISTORY The Roquette & Cazes project represents, above all, the coming together of two friends, Jorge Roquette from Quinta do Crasto and Jean-Michel Cazes from Château Lynch-Bages. In 2002, these two families decided to set up a company to produce great wines that would be distinguished by the natural characteristics of the Douro Valley and by the experience of the Cazes, who have been producing wines in Bordeaux for nearly a century. A wine-making adventure “Making a great wine using the Douro grape varieties, a wine with body and complexity which combines the power and the sun of Portugal with the elegance and finesse of Bordeaux” said Jean-Michel Cazes about this adventure. There were two major challenges: – to respect the character of the Douro so as not to lose the local feel and touch; – to bring two different teams of winemakers together that speak different languages and work 1,000 km apart from each other. Adapting the knowledge to different natural conditions to produce great wines In the Roquette & Cazes project, the whole process begins in the vineyard. From time to time, family Cazes’s winemaker Daniel Llose goes to the Douro to visit the vineyards along with Manuel Lobo, Quinta do Crasto’s winemaker. The vinification process is conducted by the two winemakers and it takes place in Quinta do Crasto’s winery. In order to conserve, yet elegantly integrate, the Douro characteristics, a specific winemaking system was created. It includes a gentle pumping over process and long maceration periods which result in intense and elegant wines, with good structure and personality, deeply marked by the “terroir”. The grapes come from vineyards located in different parts of the Douro Valley. The main grape varieties used are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz. French oak barrels, which are provided by Château Lynch-Bages’s supplier, are used to mature the wine. Bottle ageing takes place in a temperature controlled environment in Quinta do Crasto’s warehouse. PLEASE NOTE: This is a recurring auction. The seal number(s) you see on the photos might differ from the one(s) on your bottle(s).