On Monday the 4th, the first business day on the decade, we rolled up our sleeves and went to work. Three appointments, more than what I usually schedule, but I was into getting our hands as muddy as possible (the name Bairrada comes from barro, meaning mud or clay, a reference to the local soils). With the help of Marcia’s iTouch and GoogleMaps (note the discreet product placement), we survived a labyrinthine path to Luis Pato in Amoreira da G“ndara, where we were greeted by the lively and gracious Sara Rodrigues e Matos, who showed us around the winery until Luis Pato’s arrival.
Thanks to the relatively little know Baga grape, a sort of Portuguese answer to Nebbiolo, Bairrada could be the finest wine region in Portugal for dry reds of proven longevity, but suffers from low esteem and visibility in comparison to the Douro and Alentejo, the country’s biggest success stories. As the exception to this rule, Pato is known as the ambassador of Bairrada. While his charm is indeed that of a diplomat, he speaks his mind with persuasiveness and humor, and we felt constructively well treated. As a chemical engineer, he seems to have a confident grasp of how substances interact, and shows greater readiness to experiment than the average enologist.
Pato’s top of the line Quinta do Ribeirinho, a 100% Baga red made from ungrafted vines with tiny yields, is protected from phylloxera by a layer of sand covering the clay-calcareous soil (as in Colares). He is currently experimenting with ungrafted rootstocks planted directly on clay-calcareous soil, but they may not survive. The experiment, nevertheless, has already shown that 100% clay-calcareous soils produce finer fruit that those covered with sand.
The Quinta de Ribeirinho is his only wine aged 100% in new oak. Asked why, he said it was the only one that had enough structure to withstand new wood without acquiring its taste. Asked “but why new wood in the first place?” he said that he doesn’t use new wood to impart taste. New wood has two advantages compared to older wood: it causes greater natural micro-oxygenation because the pores are fully open; and it imparts more wood tannins, and the interaction between wood tannins and grape tannins causes improved polymerization (longer fibers).
All Luis Pato’s grapes are 100% destemmed. The reds ferment with ambient yeasts, the whites with inoculated. As an experiment, he is adding small amounts of white musts to the lagares used for red wine crushing. At bottling, reds show a total of 30-50mg/l of SO2, whites show 70-80mg/l. Tannins are natural anti-oxidants and Baga is very tannic, requiring less SO2 than Touriga Nacional.
All grapes are hand-picked. Starting this year, some machine harvesting will be employed for some sparklers. A few years ago Pato uprooted all his Cabernet Sauvignon to plant Portuguese white varietals. All grapes cultivated are indigenous: Baga and Touriga Nacional for reds, Bical, Sercial, Maria Gomes and Sercialinho (a hybrid of Sercial and Alvarinho) for whites and sparklers.
Since I had written to Pato about my interest in wines made from ungrafted vines, we started at the top, always a refreshing change of pace:
2009 Luis Pato Quinta do Ribeirinho Pé Franco barrel sample
From Burgundian barrel. Still finishing malos. Cherry and reduction aromas. Shows malolactic frizziness, good weight, lovely fruit, and a touch of eucalyptus. Good acidity (according to Pato, sandy soils generate more malic acid than clay-calcareous soils).
2009 Luis Pato Vinha Barrosa barrel sample
From 80+ year old Baga vines. White wine must added (0.5-1.0%). Malos finished. Very fresh cherry aromas. Vibrant, acidic, tannic, lovely balance and harmony. This barrel was new, but will be blended with others that are not. French wood (Allier) but Portuguese cooper (Dias & Cia.). Pato just bought the rest of this vineyard, so it will become a monopole starting next year.
2009 Luis Pato Vinha Formal Touriga Nacional barrel sample
10 year old vines. Second vintage. Only two 650 liter barrels/900 bottles. White wine must added (Bical, from the same vineyard) to this vintage (2008 had none). Cold maceration. Cherry and reduction aromas. Tannic, with additional hints of violets.
2009 Luis Pato Vinha Pan barrel sample 13.2%
100% single vineyard Baga from Vinha Panasqueira. Second use barrel. Muted nose, showing reduction, but mouth feel is sweet and floral. Lovely.
2009 Luis Pato Vinha Formal (branco) barrel sample
100% Bical. Second use barrel. Mineral, white flower and peaches. Creamy mouth feel. Could use a touch more acid (underwent malos).
We went up to the tasting room, where we tasted three sparklers and two whites:
2008 Luis Pato Baga Espumante Bruto (rosé) 12.0%
100% Baga. Strawberry, raspberry, mineral aromas. Good body. Tasty.
2008 Luis Pato Vinha Formal Espumante Bruto (white) 13.0%
Blend. Single vineyard. Mineral and white flower aromas, with some caramel. Serious acidity but candied sweetness, like Turkish Delight. Asked about this, Pato said it’s from the Touriga Nacional in the blend.
2008 Luis Pato Maria Gomes Espumante Bruto 12.0%
95% Maria Gomes 5% Arinto. Mineral, floral aromas. Less acidic, less “aggressive.” Attractive.
2008 Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas (vinho branco) 12.5%
Spends four months in used barriques. A blend of Bical, Sercial and Sercialzinho (a hybrid of Sercial and Alvarinho). Nose is closed, with some funk. Good weight, sweet finish, needs a touch more acidity.
2008 Luis Pato Vinha Formal (branco) 12.8%
100% Bical from clay-calcareous soils. Bottle had been open six days (in fridge). Lovely aromas of peach and white flowers. Excellent weight, ideal light bitterness, higher acidity than previous but could still use a bit more for ideal balance.
Pato told us about how he bought the Vinha Formal vineyard based on a 150 year old report by a Portuguese enological surveyor containing a map highlighting it as being one the few in Bairrada that could produce “vinhos de embarque” (embarkation wines), meaning those with enough stuffing to survive the long ship journey to Brazil. At this point, Pato had to leave, and left us in Sara’s hands for the remaining reds.
2007 Luis Pato Vinho Tinto Vinhas Velhas 12.7%
100% Baga. Spends 15 months in French oak, second and third use. Cherry and herbs. Good weight, pleasant medium tannins, nice final bitterness.
2005 Luis Pato Vinha Pan 13.0%
100% Baga from 29 year old vines. Bottle open ten days in the fridge. Ripe cherry aromas. Lovely mouth feel, good balance, oxidation beginning to show.
2003 Luis Pato Vinha Barrosa 13.5%
Leather, cherry, funk. The word “decadent” flashes on the teleprompter. Good acidity for the vintage. Tannic, powerful, lovely.
2009 Luis Pato Abafado Molecular
A new dessert wine made by Filipa and Luis Pato using crio-extracted Baga. 500 ml bottle open five days in the fridge but without cork. Intense aromas of raspberry and violets. Fresh and lively, attractive sweetness, powerful tannins.
In addition to the good vibes and being on the receiving end of Luis Pato’s generosity, our visit was instructive because of the insight into his philosophy, his particular way of being from Bairrada. The sale of sparklers is the winery’s main source of revenue and allows it to do well while developing ways to increase the visibility of the harshly tannic Baga grape, at the other extreme of facility. While Pato only uses indigenous varieties and ambient yeasts for the reds, he also uses new French oak (in differing proportions) to make his Bagas smoother and earlier drinking, in a manner reminiscent of what Luciano Sandrone does with Nebbiolo. As long as the wines don’t taste of wood, I have no problem with this, but they cannot be called traditional. Before the “ends justifies the means” gang asks “who cares as long as they taste good?”, these wines may taste better than the old wood Bagas up to age ten, but it’s too early to say which will taste better in the long run (and in wine, of course, the best things come to those who wait). But while Piemontese wineries and their clients have Dolcettos and Barberas to keep them happy while waiting for their Nebbiolos to mature, Bairrada product lines seem to have something of a hole in their mid-palate. Touriga Nacional and lesser know varieties like Jaen and Sizão could be used to plug this hole. But as mono-varietals, not to soften Baga. Like, hey, does anyone with tradition soften Nebbiolo with Barbera?
