Last summer I was lucky enough to break bread with the legendary Luis Pato — in his home, no less. Luis Pato, the Portuguese icon who bet on Bairrada before literally anyone else and introduced the world to Baga, is as affable and funny as he is smart.

Along with his importer, his wife, and his daughter Maria Pato (who heads much of the work at the winery, as well as her own project, Duckman), we went through a series of incredible estate wines — many of which have just landed.

Chris Leon and Luis Pato

Luis Pato’s contribution to Portuguese wine can’t be overstated. He made the argument that Baga belonged on the world stage and, frankly, single-handedly put it there.
He tamed the grape's tannic edge by deciding to harvest each vineyard twice: once for sparkling wine and again for the reds — both styles which helped redefine the grape and its home region of Bairrada. For a fuller picture of the history and work being done at the winery, there’s a great Wineanorak journal entry that gives deeper historical background.

After walking through the vineyards and tasting the current releases at the winery, we ventured to Casa Pato for dinner. Their home, adorned with all things duck-shaped, is the same beautiful place where they founded the winery and brought their girls up:

Dinner with the Pato family and Lewis Koppelman of GK Selections; duck decanters; Luis in his element.

Sparkling Wines

We started the night with tiny fried fish that deliciously felt like the French fries of seafood — a perfect foil to highlight the pedigreed sparkling wines of this area, which, in our opinion, produce the finest bubbles in Portugal. The fog-driven climate and rich pockets of calcareous soils bring tension and precision to the final wines. Pato produces a slew of impressive sparkling wines (as do both of his daughters under Filipa Pato & Maria's Duckman).

We started with two experimental pét-nats dating back to 2010; both were fresh, and mouthwatering. Shedding any sunny, primary fruit, these were limestone-driven wines, all about soil and structure.

Maria with a fabulous shell limestone fossil; much sparkling was poured.

This drop brings two of the finest Champagne-method wines made at the winery. The first is a one-off bottling: ‘Vinha Julia’ Espumante, made to commemorate the birth of Luis Pato’s granddaughter Julia in 2021. It’s pure Sercialinho from 60+ year-old vines grown on sandy soils at their historic Quinta do Ribeirinho. Only the free-run juice is used, and it is aged for four years on the lees before disgorgement. This is a dizzying, special wine for any lover of cold-vintage Côte des Blancs bottlings:

2021 Luis Pato Vinha Julia Espumante, Beiras, Portugal, $85

And second is the return of 'Vinha Formal' Espumante (from the 2019 vintage), one of our favorite sparkling wines from Portugal as it comes from the Formal vineyard, a pure chalk site. The electric free-run juice is paired with extra-long time on its lees — a patient six years — before disgorgement. It’s hard to find better value in the world of Champagne-method wines:

2019 Luis Pato Vinha Formal Espumante, Beiras, Portugal, $36

White Wines

After apero, we sat for dinner. A large roasted fish was served with quintessentially Portuguese greens and potatoes. Food that was both delicious and framed the wines perfectly. The wine was a library bottling of still Vinha Formal, of which two very different vintages arrived: 2002 and 2021.

Both are Bical grown on the chalky limestone described in the sparkling, i.e. both have acidity and incredible capacity to age. Chablisian in style and in aging arc. The '21 was fermented and raised in large scale chestnut casks, before arresting another 18 months before release. The 2002 was fermented and aged in used french oak barrels for 9 months, before aging in bottle at the winery for an incredible 22 years:

2021 Luis Pato Vinha Formal, Beiras, Portugal, $30
2002 Luis Pato Vinha Formal, Beiras, Portugal, $70

With it is one of Patos signature library wines, the Vinhas Velhas Branco — and this release is from 1990, his first vintage of the wine. Equal parts blend of Bical, Cercial, Maria Gomes, and Sercialinho, it reads like a salt-flecked Lopez de Heredia Blanco. So special:

1990 Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas Branco, Beiras, Portugal, $120

Red Wines

From his grandfather’s vision (seeing Guyot-trained vines during the war in France) to rethink his vineyards, to Luis’s insistence on two harvests in 2000, the Patos are visionaries with Baga. The grape, which is often confused for Nebbiolo in the glass, is a world-class variety capable of making wines of the highest quality. Pato is the most forceful example of this.

The Pato cellar is an incredible time capsule; a special detour to 2000 Cabernet...

With duck as the final course, we tasted his most famous Baga terroirs but had one unexpected detour from the grape: a 25-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon. Luis’s father planted the vines (the bottle bears his name) in the heavier clay portions of the estate. Aged leather and soaked currants in the glass read like old Mount Eden. Any lover of old California should run for this time capsule:

2000 Joao Pato (Luis Pato) Cabernet Sauvignon, Bairrada, $48

For the Baga(s), we walked through three unique terroirs and the VV bottling (which is from 2000) from a blend of sites:

2000 Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas Beiras, Portugal 375ml, $42

Quinta do Moinho, planted in the richest soils of the three, gives the most Bordeaux-like dark-fruit character and is aging as beautifully as old claret — as we could argue after having the 2000:

2000 Luis Pato Quinta do Moinho Beiras, Portugal, $68
1999 Luis Pato Quinta do Moinho Beiras, Portugal, Magnum, $175

Almost opposite to Moinho is the Barrio vineyard, which is east-facing and sits in a pocket of limestone and sand. This gives a silty, red-fruited wine that blends Baga’s aromatic qualities with its power. We received two vintages: 2000, which is giving way to the spiced flavors that only come with time, while '09 is a succulent, polished wine that shows the pure-fruited quality of this site:

2009 Luis Pato Vinha Barrio, Portugal, $72
2000 Luis Pato Vinha Barrio, Portugal, $80

Lastly, we have the Baga from Vinha Pan. As with Vinha Formal, we have a recent vintage joined by a much older example; ‘20 & ‘13. Of the three sites here, it is the most detailed and aromatic, similarly red-fruited but in a slightly higher register. This, for me, is the most elegant expression in the lineup:

2020 Luis Pato Vinha Pan, Bairrada, Portugal, $50
2013 Luis Pato Vinha Pan, Bairrada, Portugal 375ml, $40

After dinner, Luis Pato — the most energetic and lively of us all — walked us through old family photos. It was an hours-long event that went by too quickly. I’m grateful for the time and for the better understanding of what makes these wines so special. —Chris

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