Bastardo wine variety

This red wine variety is a real chameleon.  It goes under many names, and is probably more correctly called Trousseau.

Bastardo from McLaren Vale. Image by Dan Traucki

Bastardo originated in the Jura region of Eastern France, where it is known as Trousseau. There it makes a variety of wine styles including a reds, roses, the sweet fortified Macvin du Jura as well as white and pink sparkling wine.

The variety is much more widely grown in Portugal under various names including Bastardo. In the Douro region it is used in Port blends or in red wines either as a varietal or in blends.

In Galicia, northeastern Spain the variety is used, alone and in blends to make red wine under various names including Merenzao.  In the Rioja it is called Maturana Tinta. Elsewhere in Spain Bastardo is found under various synonyms including Verdejo.  This last name is doubly confusing because Verdejo is actually the prime name of a white variety.

An article about how Trousseau/Bastardo has spread around the world can be found on this Blog Post by Wink Lorch

Some of the more common synonyms of Bastardo grape variety

Bastardo In Australia

It seems that the variety was initially brought to Australia as a Portuguese variety to make Port style wines.  Nowadays it is used more often for table wines, both red and rose.

Mazza Wines in the Geographe area of Western Australia make an attractive rose from Bastardo

Australian Producers of Bastardo

• Amato Vino Margaret River
• Happs Margaret River
• Harris Organic Wines Swan Valley
• Kies Family Barossa Valley
• Lino Ramble McLaren Vale
• Mazza Geographe
• Orbis McLaren Vale
• Serrena Que Estate Granite Belt
• Smallfry Wines Barossa Valley
• Steels Gate Yarra Valley
• Terre a Terre Adelaide Hills
• The Pawn Wine Company Adelaide Hills
• Varney Wines McLaren Vale

There are only a few producers of wine from this variety hence it is one of those covered in my book Rare Ozzies.

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See the full list of varieties described on this site