Terroir and expertise

An outstanding terroir in the Douro valley

The Douro valley is a unique location with steep slopes and deep valleys. Here, the countryside is composed of cultivated slopes where wine growing plays a prominent role.

Cultivated on uninterrupted terraces and supported by low walls, the vineyards carve the landscape to perfection.

The geological formations consist mainly of schist and granitic intrusions. The roots of the vines slip deep down into the vertical cracks in the schist and are thus able to absorb the amount of water needed to withstand Portugal’s hot, dry summers.

Portugal’s best red grape variety

The Douro wine-growing region boasts a wide diversity of local grape varieties. Portugal’s best red variety, the Touriga Nacional delivers an excellent bouquet combining blackberry and elderberry and imbues the wine with complexity and elegance.

The Touriga Franca lends the wine its fragrant character and persistent fruitiness, whilst the Tinta Roriz brings original aromas.

Sanitary state and optimum degree of maturity

The technical teams at Quinta Do Crasto and Chateau Lynch-Bages pay regular visits to the plots on the quintas – or estates – selected for the quality of their vineyard management and their production potential for these great varieties.

Carried out from the start of the veraison, these regular checks help to achieve an optimum sanitary state and maturity, thereby ensuring ripe, silky tannins over all the varieties.

The rugged terrain of this magnificent terroir allows for manual harvesting only, which means the oldest plots are treated with care.

A painstaking and rigorous sorting is carried out at the picking stage and also, if necessary, on a sorting table in order to eliminate the poorer-quality berries.