In the past, the Bastardo grape was particularly popular for the production of port wines. This was due to the grape's high sugar and alcohol content, which are necessary for this specific type of wine.

But as so often happens throughout history, the preferences and tastes of wine drinkers evolved. As a result, many vineyards where the Bastardo grape grew were cleared to make room for other grape varieties that were more popular at the time.

The wine presents itself with a pale cherry-red color. Its aromas enchant with a wonderful sweetness that highlights warm herbs and cherry fruit. It is pure and elegant, with a hint of foliage. On the palate, it is soft, warm, and fruity-sweet. Light and extremely elegant, it contains beautiful notes of cherries and herbs, as well as subtle tannins. A truly beautiful wine.

But there is still hope for lovers of this special grape. Rita, a winemaker, fortunately inherited a piece of land, 5 hectares to be precise, where her grandfather had planted Bastardo grapes half a century ago in the highlands of Douro, Portugal.

Rita follows a natural winemaking process, producing the wine in traditional stone wine presses called lagares, with a very low addition of sulfur. This natural process results in a wine of bright color and intense aroma and flavor, highlighting the characteristic features of the Bastardo grape.

It's worth noting that the name Bastardo is also used synonymously for the Trousseau grape variety. Despite the similarity in name, however, the taste of Bastardo from the Douro Valley differs significantly from that of Bastardo from the Jura region in France. Both represent their unique regions and express the characteristics of their terroir.

It grows on 50-year-old vines at Quinta Chão do Pereiro, which Rita's grandfather planted there, and only 5,000 bottles of this vintage exist worldwide!

Young Portuguese winemakers have rediscovered this grape – much to our delight! This 100% Bastardo from Conceito delights with its warm herbal and cherry notes and is a very elegant, light wine with subtle tannins.

The Bastardo also has a brother: the Legítimo !