2024 Filipa Pato - Bairrada Baga Nossa Missao (750ml)

Filipa Pato and her husband William Wouters launched their own project in 2001, working old-vine Baga and Bical in organic and biodynamic mode from a small winery in Óis do Bairro. Nossa Missão, meaning “our mission,” is their most singular red. It comes from a vineyard that its previous owner, whose great-grandfather planted it, could no longer work.

The wine is 100 percent Baga from a tiny, 0.57 hectare single vineyard of ungrafted, pre-phylloxera vines believed to be 150 years old or more. They grow in shallow limestone soil topped with red clay, and each vine yields only one or two bunches. Grapes are harvested and sorted by hand, partially destemmed, and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The wine then ages 12 to 18 months, depending on the vintage, in large neutral pipas. The farming is certified biodynamic.

Wild bilberry, red cherry, redcurrant, and plum are threaded with spice and a touch of balsamic. Chalky acidity brings energy, while dynamic, abundant tannins give structure without heaviness. The long finish is saline and smoky, edged with pine needle. Intense and highly expressive, it is a pure statement of old-vine Baga that rewards time in the cellar.