As we approach the halfway point of 2021, I’d say that Portuguese wine is the story of the year so far. We highlighted Portugal in a recent edition of our “Explore 4” wine club, and, on the Daily Offer front, some of our most exciting finds lately have been Portuguese—reds and whites alike. What’s so exciting about them? That rare combination of novelty, quality, and value that is catnip to sommeliers the world over. It may seem odd to describe Portugal as a “new” frontier, but from the perspective of the American wine consumer, it is: Port wines are considered some of the greatest collectibles in the world, but Portuguese wine more broadly spent a lot of years in the wilderness before a new generation, and new investment, completely transformed the scene.

In the case of the Bairrada appellation, the region where Quinta das Bágeiras has become a modern reference point, the trailblazing Luis Pato, a master of the local Baga grape, jump-started the renaissance we’re witnessing today. Where there was once only Pato, there is now a lot of serious Baga to evaluate, especially from an association of producers called the “Baga Friends” (Quinta das Bágeiras is a member). Baga from Bairrada is Portugal’s answer to Nebbiolo from Barolo, and while “Avô Fausto” tosses in some of the plummier Touriga Nacional, the smoky, mineral, spicy personality of Baga takes center stage. This is a bold, beefy red, full of dark fruit and just the right amount of rusticity—one of many delicious Portuguese reds you’ll be seeing here more and more often.

It’s not that Bairrada is unexplored territory. Far from it. Along with the Douro Valley (Port country), Bairrada and its more-inland neighbor, the Dão, have enjoyed some international acclaim, especially for powerful red wines. Located immediately southwest of the Dão, Bairrada vineyards occupy lower-lying hills that stretch toward the Atlantic Coast. The climate is a little milder and the soils are mostly clay and limestone with some sand. And while Dão reds are mostly driven by the Touriga Nacional grape (which also stars in the Douro), Bairrada’s red-grape plantings are dominated by the more “difficult” Baga variety.

Often compared to northern Italy’s Nebbiolo grape, Baga is high in tannin, late-ripening, and must be planted in the best possible exposures to ensure that it will ripen fully. Historically, this resulted in a lot of excessively tannic, overly “rustic” wines, but when it’s “on,” Baga produces some of the most complex, age-worthy red wine in Portugal. Luis Pato was long the standard-bearer, but now he has a lot of company—including his daughter, Filippa, and Douro eminence Dirk Niepoort, both of whom are also members of the “Baga Friends” network.

Quinta das Bágeiras is run by Mário Sérgio Alves Nuño, a third-generation vintner who named today’s wine for his paternal grandfather (avô), Fausto Pereira Nuño. The 12 hectares of vineyards Fausto farmed in the town of Fogueira formed the original basis for the estate, which sold off its produce to others for many years until Mário Sérgio created the Quinta das Bágeiras label in 1989. Since then, he’s added another 16 hectares of vineyards and produces a wide range of still and sparkling wines (Baga’s high acidity makes it a popular choice for dry sparklers). Today’s “Avô Fausto” bottling captures the Portuguese moment perfectly—it is clean and polished, yet crafted in a traditional manner, with fermentation taking place in old concrete lagares and aging in a combination of used French oak and traditional Portuguese tonel barrels.

The 2017 Avô Fausto is a dark, brooding, spicy glass of wine that takes on new, darkly fruity dimensions as it is exposed to oxygen. The addition of Touriga Nacional lends purple/black shading to the deep garnet color, while the aromas are a kind of Barolo-meets-Bordeaux mashup of brambly blackberry, plum, cassis, tobacco, leather, and a “tar and roses” quality that’ll feel familiar to Nebbiolo lovers. It is full-bodied but not massive, with a firm structure and some dusty tannins that take a little time to resolve. Decant it 30-60 minutes before enjoying at 60-65 degrees in Bordeaux stems. This is a gutsy red that would be perfect for serving with Bairrada’s local specialty, roast suckling pig, but let’s be realistic about our culinary ambitions here: You can’t go wrong with a riff on feijoada stew, either. Just make sure to try this wine, because Bairrada Baga is poised to be the next big thing. Enjoy!