Tinta Roriz produces a bold wine of firm tannic structure and excellent complexity.

High in vigor, moderately productive and resistant to heat and aridity, Tinta Roriz grows best on hot, dry, south-facing schist slopes, away from water and with shelter from wind. This curbs the vine’s vigor and also helps it avoid rot. Of the top Port varieties, Tinta Roriz is the most variable in quality. It produces thick skinned, deeply colored grapes that are not too high in acidity.

The only classic variety of the Douro not native to Portugal, Tinta Roriz is known in Spain – its birthplace – as Tempranillo. The name, from temprana, or early, refers to its early ripening. Tinta Roriz constitutes 12.1 percent of plantings in the Douro Valley and is the second most prevalent vine.