Conceito Bastardo Tinto, Douro

Description

Conceito Bastardo is a red wine from the Douro wine-growing region of Portugal. Bastardo is a grape found in small plantings in the Douro. It also goes by the name of Trousseau or Trousseau Noir in the Jura region of France. Bastardo was once the most widely planted grape variety in the Douro but it is now a rarity.

Conceito Vinhos consists of 3 properties in the Douro Superior totalling some 79 hectares. The two women behind Conceito Vinhos are Carla Costa Ferreira and her daughter, wine-maker, Rita Marques Ferreira. The oldest vines on the estate are 80 years old, there are 2 prized hectares of pre-phylloxera (white) vines up at 600m and 5 hectares of Bastardo at Quinta da Veiga (planted by Rita’s grandfather). All the red grape varieties are planted on schistous soils and all the white varieties on granitic sand. The family has been acquiring vineyards since the 1940s but Rita Marques Ferreira only made the first Conceito wines in 2004, and built the Quinta de Veiga winery the following year. Viticulture here has been organic since 2006 but they are uncertified. 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, has the Douro’s coolest microclimate.

The grapes for Conceito Bastardo are 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 planted because the Bastardo produces higher sugar levels, prized by Port shippers, which thus attracted a high price back when Conceito would sell all their grapes on.

Conceito Bastardo is made from 100% Bastardo grapes which are transported from the vineyard to the winery in 25 kg boxes, to ensure they arrive in best condition, and are trodden by foot in granite lagares with no de-stemming. After fermentation the wine is rested for 10 months in stainless steel. This wine is classifed as a VR (Vinho Regional) Duriense, which is a slightly lesser classification than Douro DOC but in no way is reflected in the quality of the wine! Annual production is around 5000 bottles.

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.”