Fedellos do Couto Bastarda

Fedellos do Couto Bastarda'Bastarda' is one of the many aliases the grape varietal more commonly known as Trousseau has in northern Spain. As Benedictine monks gradually moved their way along the Camino de Santiago, founding monasteries and planting vines as they went, Trousseau cuttings were carried along with them. Gradually adapting to their new homes and picking up new local names as they went: Verdejo Negro in Asturias and Cantabria, Merenzao, Maturana Tinta in Galicia,

'Bastarda' is one of the many aliases the grape varietal more commonly known as Trousseau has in northern Spain. As Benedictine monks gradually moved their way along the Camino de Santiago, founding monasteries and planting vines as they went, Trousseau cuttings were carried along with them. Gradually adapting to their new homes and picking up new local names as they went: Verdejo Negro in Asturias and Cantabria, Merenzao, Maturana Tinta in Galicia, even Tintilla in the Canary Islands... 

Bastarda is the name that's most commonly used in the wilds of Galicia around Ribeira Sacra and in northern Portugal. It's a reference to its tendency to ignore the grape growers efforts to tame its shoots - it's a total bastard to farm in other words. Which is why this cuvee comes from several tiny parcels, cobbled together from old vines in the cold edges of Ribeira Sacra on granitic soils. Despite it's unruly nature and rarity Bastarda in the hands of the Fedellos do Couto crew could quite possibly be the most lifted and elegant wine produced in Galicia. It's spell-bindingly pretty, floral, lifted, and light. Easily on par with the wines of the Jura in France where this grape varietal is more typically found.