Conceito Bastardo

Conceito Bastardo is available to buy here.

The two women behind Conceito Vinhos are Carla Costa Ferreira and her daughter, wine-maker, Rita Marques Ferreira. Conceito Vinhos consists of 3 properties in the Douro Superior which total some 79 hectares.

Rita Marques Ferreira has studied  enology  at  the  University  of Bordeaux  with  Denis  Dubourdieu,  has  worked  a harvest  at Niepoort  in  the  Douro;  and also at Flagstone  with  Bruce  Jack  in Stellenbosch, South Africa and at Villa Maria in Marlborough, New  Zealand. Not only has Rita Marques bought a little bit of the New World to the Douro but she is also now making a Conceito Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand and a Bordeaux blend in Stellenbosch, not to mention an Alvarinho in the Minho, Portugal.

The oldest vines on the estate are 80 years old and there are 2 prized hectares of pre-Phylloxera (white) vines up at 600m along with the famous 5 hectares of Bastardo at Quinta da Veiga (where the fruit for the Conceito Bastardo comes from). All the red grape varieties are planted on schistous soils and all the white varieties on granitic sand soils.

The family has been acquiring vineyards since the 1940s but the first Conceito wines were only made 2004 with the Quinta de Veiga winery being built the following year. Prior to this grapes were sold to other producers and Port shippers. All cultivation has been organic since 2006.

Although the properties are based in the easternmost Douro Superior, the Douro’s hottest and driest sub-region, Conceito’s base in the Teja Valley, near Vesuvio, is supposedly the Douro’s coolest microclimate. According to Rita Marques, “During the day, it’s eight  degrees  [Celsius]  less  here  than  at  Quinta do Vale  Meao,  about twenty kilometers away.”

As well as 20 hectares of vines at Quinta do Veiga, Conceito Vinhos also has around 20 hectares at Quinta do Chao-de Pereiro, 23 hectares at Quinta do Cabido (the oldest vineyard with the poorest soils) and some 10 hectares at Quinta do Menir in the highest part of the valley where mainly white grape varieties are grown (and rather quirkily where Marques has planted Gruner Veltliner).

In the vineyard there is manual harvesting and an initial fruit selection followed by a second sorting at the cellar prior to de-stemming of the grapes (not for the Conceito Bastardo though). The winery is a combination of modern stainless steel, temperature-controlled vats and traditional, old granite lagares for in which the grapes are foot trodden.

Conceito Bastardo

The grapes for the Conceito Bastardo (also known as Trousseau Noir or Trousseau) is sourced from a very small, old block of vines at Quinta da Veiga. Normally in the Douro one finds a field blend of a mixture of grape varieties in any one vineyard. However this single varietal block was originally planted because the Bastardo produces higher sugar levels, prized by Port shippers, thus used to attract a high price. Bastardo was once the most widely planted grape variety in the Douro but it is now a real rarity.

The grapes for the Conceito Bastardo are transported to the cellar in 25 kg boxes, treading is by foot in granite lagares with no de-stemming. The wine is then aged for 10 months in used French barrels.

Rita Marques Ferriera says of the Conceito Bastardo, “I don’t really understand Bastardo. We just put the grapes with the stems in the lagar and crush them. It just happens. It’s not a big deal.” A bit of an understatement perhaps. “What I most appreciate, respect and seek in a wine is its authenticity, its purity.”

Conceito Bastardo Tasting Notes

Conceito Bastardo is an unusual pale cherry colour with aromas of lifted floral notes (rose), hints of white pepper, cloves, liquorice and fruits of the forest. The aromas on the nose follow onto the palate with more cherry, cranberry and chocolate flavours with a lingering and clean finish.