Fedellos do Couto Fedellos do Couto Bastarda 2023 750ml

A pale and bright varietal Bastardo (a.k.a. Trousseau), the 2023 Bastarda is a little shy, perhaps a little affected by the recent bottling a month before I tasted it. It's serious, elegant and nuanced, with faint floral notes, hints of blood orange peel and white pepper. They are hoping to plant some more of the variety, because it works very well in sandy and granite soils. It's delicate, elegant and fine-boned, with a vibrant mouthfeel and effervescent acidity and the salinity from the granite soils. Delicious. 5,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2024.

The 2021 Bastarda was cropped from a cooler and wetter year, and the wine shows austerity, cool character, a spicy side, notes of fennel and almost curry, floral and perfumed but in a very subtle way. It has a pungent palate with depth and concentration, fine-grained tannins and energy, light and clout. This could very well be the finest Bastarda to date, following the path of the 2018; it is very consistent with the style of other wines from this year. 6,000 bottles were filled in June 2022.