When two winemaking titans meet, the chances of them making anything other than superb wines are slim. And the joint venture between Jorge Roquette (Quinta do Castro) and Jean-Michel Cazes (Château Lynch-Bages) proves just that. Made with Bordelaise know how and Douro valley grapes the result: Quinta do Crasto Roquette & Cazes is the perfect hybrid between history, ability and friendship. Despite both houses having very deep roots in winemaking history - Quinta do Crasto dates back to 1615 and Lynch Bages can claim 16th century heritage – the JV is a relatively recent idea, stemming from the shared vision of two men.

Two men, two voices of course means two wines; 2002 saw the first vintage of Xisto and 2006 saw younger sibling Roquette & Cazes released onto the market. Xisto was an immediate success, and 2003s offering was voted as the “Exhibition Discovery” at Vinexpo 2005. Caze’s superlative winemaking expertise worked particularly well with the Douro valley varietals, and Roquette’s fruit in turn responded admirably to Caze’s Bordeaux-style vinification protocols. These included speeding up pumping for the first three days of fermentation and leaving a longer maceration time, giving Xisto its exceptional concentration – an incredible rarity for a product from the Douro Valley.

From a investors point of view Xisto is doubly covetable as production is limited to between 3,000-4,000 bottles annually. 2011 Average pricing is around €100 a bottle (in Europe) with prices staying stable in the past 24-month (May-2019) and was awarded 95 points from Wine Advocate, suggesting that Xisto is an excellent addition to any wine investor’s portfolio or cellar. For those more interested in drinking Roquette & Caze’s “liquid gold”, the Roquette & Cazes 2013 and 2014 vintages are an excellent choice, scoring high at the Decanter World Wine Awards and International Wine Challenge.