Luis Pato is the unofficial “King of Bairrada,” having spent a lifetime crafting pure, long-lived expressions of local grapes, and today’s 18-year-old library release is his pride and joy. The indigenous variety of choice is Baga, a certified specialty of Bairrada that can take on the best characteristics of elite Nebbiolo and Bordeaux labels.
Choosing to tame this finicky grape, however, is like taking in a stray dog: At first, feral and harsh, refusing to let its guard down. But given enough patience and a proper touch, can become one of the most cherished memories you’ll ever have. I soak up a large amount of unique wines from what continues to be one of the world’s greatest price-to-quality regions, but I’m certainly not alone in my passion. Jancis Robinson, too, is a stalwart proponent of Portuguese gems and she never hesitates to highlight one of her darling regions: “For sheer, unadulterated local character, the northern wine region of Bairrada cannot be beat.” She goes on to say, “No one could be a more vigorous protagonist...than impish veteran winemaker Luis Pato.” Impish? Well, in a sense: this modern icon has long since abandoned (what he considers to be) the stifling regulations of Bairrada, opting to label all of his wines with a regional designation instead—another notable example being the legendary cult wine of Gianfranco Soldera. Luis Pato is a legend in the making, with a legion of back-vintage wines that have continued to enthrall critics for years. Have yourself a look at this special, back-vintage release. At nearly 20 years old, it’s ready to pleasantly shock anyone who gives it a chance.
If this wine hailed from somewhere in France or Italy it’d be gobbled up eagerly by collectors, likely at a much higher price because Portugal still struggles to gain recognition for its wines other than Port. As Eric Asimov of the New York Times noted in a recent article about Bairrada, Portuguese producers (like Pato) have relied on local grapes to craft dry whites and reds. “Although some international varieties can be found,” Asimov writes, “most regions stayed true to their own grapes, which perhaps hampered efforts to market Portuguese wines outside of the country.” One exception, thanks in large part to Pato, is Bairrada’s Baga variety, described by many as “the Nebbiolo of Portugal.”
The Pato family has become synonymous with Bairrada, a region south of Porto along the Atlantic coast; further inland to the east is the Dão, and together the two regions are arguably the most famous sources of dry “table wines,” both white and red. Though their family has been crafting wines since at least the 1700s, Luis Pato’s father, João, was the first to produce estate-bottled wines with the name Bairrada, which was codified as a DOC (denomination of controlled origin) in 1980. They now control an impressive number of holdings throughout the region with vineyards that are only planted to indigenous grapes—Luis ripped up international varieties like Cabernet and Merlot long ago. Soils are mostly clay and limestone with pockets of sand, while the climate is Atlantic-influenced and fairly mild. But his Baga enjoys lots of warmth, and these ungrafted (!) vines are buried in chalk and clay soils—what Luis believes to be the perfect environment. In 2000, an entirely ‘green harvest’ came at the start of August, fully ripe and ready to pluck by hand. The de-stemmed grapes fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks for two weeks and then aged 12 months in a combination of new and used French Allier oak. This is not a wine that has been in wide release. As its importer told us, Pato is very “experimental” and holds onto significant stocks of all his releases to see how they evolve. As you can see, he held today’s 2000 for quite some time.
Pato’s 2000 Quinta do Moinho is a masterclass in Baga and its uncanny ability to mimic mature Bordeaux and top Nebbiolo with bottle age. After decanting to shed sediment, the wine pours a deep ruby-garnet moving out to a light ruby and slightly oranging rim. It bursts with a dizzying amount of mature aromas: dried red plums, currants, pipe tobacco, wild herbs, dried roses and violets, pepper, leather, dried orange peel, coffee grounds, cloves, cedar, and underbrush with a slight salinity. The palate, a bit reticent directly after opening, comes alive and presents itself as a rich, wonderfully developed, medium-plus body red that delivers intense rusticity and elegance. Full of supple acidity and still-structured tannins, this 2000 Quinta do Moinho is a slow-building powerhouse. It’s big, structured, imposing, but supremely graceful, with a meaty palate, layers of red and black fruits, and herbal savor. We tasted it after pulling the cork an hour beforehand and it only continued to improve when I took it home after work, poured it in Bordeaux stems, and paired it with a succulent pork roast. Try the attached recipe for a special evening. Even after eight hours of being open, it was singing loud—a testament to the powerful grape that is Baga and the delicate touch of a skilled winemaker. Even better? With proper cellaring, there’s still a decade left in the tank. Don’t miss out!
