Very impressed by these new releases from Rita Ferreira’s Conceito. They’re all really good. The Branco and Bastardo are probably my favourites, though. And the label design is just wonderfully eccentric.
Conceito Branco 2009 Douro
13.5% alcohol. Distinctively packaged. Taut and intense nose with fresh citrus and grapefruit pith notes, as well as some white peach and intense toastiness. The palate is broad but well defined with nuts, toast, citrus, spice and good acidity. Really fine and Burgundian with potential for development. 93/10
Conceito Tinto 2008 Douro
14% alcohol. A lovely expression of the Douro: sweetly fruited nose with a hint of new oak and fresh dark cherry and spice notes. The palate has ripe cherry and berry fruits, but also lovely fresh acidity and elegant structure. Finely wrought already, but with potential for evolution. 93/100
Conceito Contraste Tinto 2008 Douro
13.5% alcohol. Attractive sweet black cherry and blackberry nose, with fresh mineral and tar notes. Quite complex. The palate has nice balance between the sweet fruit and some gravelly, mineral savouriness, with grippy tannins. Fresh, taut and delicious. 92/100
Conceito Bastardo 2009 VR Duriense
13% alcohol. An early maturing variety with weak colour that was popular in the 18th century, but has now steadily abandoned. Pale cherry red colour. Wonderful sweet aromatics: warm herbs, cherry fruit. So pure and elegant with a leafy edge. The palate is smooth, warm and sweetly fruited. Light and superbly elegant with lovely cherry and herb notes, and subtle tannins. Lovely wine. 93/100
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
7 Comments on Exciting new releases from Douro producer Conceito
Hi Jamie,
I want to buy a bottle of the Bastardo… any idea whether there a UK distributor/website to purchase it from? wine-searcher didn’t really help too much – the only thing I found was for Germany.
Cheers,
Ben
The Bastardo was recently released here in Canada, but is currently only being sold in two Toronto restaurants. However, Conceito does have a Canadian importer so we should see wider distribution soon.
Interestingly enough I read last week that the Bastardo grape is actually Trousseau from Jura. Who would have thought? The source of that information was sommelier and writer Jamie Drummond who wrote about it last week on The Good Food Revolution website. (http://goodfoodrev.com)
Or Wikipedia, where a whole page is devoted to it, referencing Jancis Robinson’s grape book. Nice plug though…
Sorry wasn’t really meant to be a plug, I have nothing to do with Good Food Rev was just referencing it. It was where I first read that Trousseau and Bastardo were the same variety. I don’t always go to Wikipedia to find information, I see you are right though.
Just thought it was interesting, was at a Jura tasting last week and was really loving the Trousseau’s, would be great to try the Portuguese versions. Especially with the good reviews that Conceito are getting.
I love trousseau! Never knew it was the same variety. Would like to see more Bastardo/Trousseau wines – they agree with me
To BenS (and eveyone looking for the wine):
Bastardo is imported in the UK by Raymond Reynolds Ltd (winesfromportugal.com)
eric@conceito.com.pt
Hey Jamie, glad you enjoyed the wines. I think Rita is doing a great job, and her wines are also aging really well. Think about coming over for a vertical. There’s definitely something to be said about Douro whites, and this is happening right now. 2009 showed a lot of improvement. Cheers, mate.