Bastardo

Bastardo is the Portuguese name for the grape the Jura calls Trousseau, and it has had a long career under both. In the Douro it is one of the varieties permitted for Port, and it was once far more widely planted there than it is today. In eastern France it makes a light, perfumed red on its own.

The two roles come from the same trait: it ripens early and it accumulates sugar fast while holding very little acidity. For a fortified wine that is useful, because the fermentation is stopped early with spirit anyway and the sweetness is the point. For a dry red it is a problem, because low acid wine tastes soft and tires quickly.

It also frustrates the grower. The vine is vigorous, it crops unpredictably, and it is prone to rot and to millerandage, where a bunch sets a mix of full and shot berries. Plantings in the Douro fell steadily as growers chose Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca instead. The wine it makes is pale, aromatic and faintly wild, closer in weight to a Pinot noir than to anything else in Portugal.