Dark purple in colour, with heady aromas of violets, pine needles, ripe red fruit and chocolate. On the palate it is generous and concentrated, with prominent vanilla, oak and fleshy dark fruit flavours, supported by firm tannins and well balanced acidity. Serve with simple game dishes or fillet steak.

A dynamic and exciting estate, making a sometimes bewildering array of different wines. With 12 different plots totalling 40 hectares, the Roques vineyards are around 450 to 500m. Quinta dos Roques pioneered the idea of varietal bottling in Portugal with their 1996 wines, and were probably responsible for the Touriga Nacional gold rush which followed. Despite their fame, Roques remain a small producer, with many of their bottlings not exceeding 1000 cases.