Sasikume Bastardo

Sasikume Bastardo is a red wine from the grape Bastardo, an Iberian name for Trousseau (also called Merenzao in Galicia and Maturana Tinta in Rioja), a variety historically grown in Rioja and largely lost there to phylloxera before its modern revival. It is bottled under Etérea Kripan, the project of Melanie Hickman, who co-creates it alongside David Sampedro Gil at the shared Bodegas Bhilar facility in Elvillar de Álava, Rioja Alavesa. "Sasikume" means "bastard" in Euskera, the Basque language, a play on the grape's Spanish name. The fruit comes from a small biodynamic parcel planted to reintroduce the variety, farmed with horse plowing and contour planting; retailer sources give the planting as 2018 on roughly half a hectare. Vinification follows the unfussy Bhilar template of indigenous-yeast fermentation, with whole clusters placed in concrete to begin fermentation naturally, a brief period on fine lees, and bottling without fining or filtration, yielding a naturally low alcohol of 12 percent. Imported to Ukraine by WineWine.