Horácio Simões Bastardo Heritage

Horácio Simões Heritage Bastardo is a prestigious fortified (licoroso) wine made by Casa Agrícola Horácio Simões on the Setúbal Peninsula, notable for reviving the Bastardo (Trousseau) grape, once considered extinct in this demarcated area.

The Wine Advocate
RP 93

Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez

The rare Heritage Bastardo was made with Trousseau, a variety called Bastardo here, which has a long history in the region. It has 19% alcohol, a pH of 3.35, 8.5 grams of acidity and 166 grams of sugar. The hand-picked grapes were destemmed and crushed, then fermented with skin maceration to extract the best from them. Adding grape spirit sets the balance between the wine's body and aroma, with the ideal moment chosen by the winemaking team.

Over the years, the wine is carefully racked, tasted, analysed and blended based on teachings handed down by earlier generations. Before release, the wines are assessed by family tasters, with three generations required to be represented!

It has a deep amber colour and a perfumed nose, not as aromatic as the Moscatel range, with notes of orange peel and caramel. It's soft and sweet but keeps good freshness, giving balance. 2,400 half-litre bottles were produced.

There's no clear indication of the lot or bottling date in the Heritage range, although the label says this information is engraved on the bottle.