Filipa Pato & William Wouters Post-Quercus Baga 2024

Post-Quercus is a joint project between Filipa Pato and her husband William Wouters, made from Baga in Bairrada, Portugal. The name and the method both look back to Roman times, when wine here was made and stored in clay amphorae, and the region's name comes from bairro, the clay that fills its soils. Rather than oak, the wine is aged six months in clay amphorae, which allow gentle micro-oxygenation through the porous walls while adding no wood flavour, so the fruit and site show clearly. Bairrada's cool, damp, Atlantic climate and clay soils give Baga high acidity and fine tannin, and at just 11.5 percent this is a light, fresh style. The colour is bright ruby. The nose is savoury and lifted, with red berries, red currant and sour cherry over damp earth, dried herbs and a stony note. The palate is light bodied and taut, with sharp acidity, fine chalky tannin and a clean, mineral finish. Serve it at 14 to 15 degrees, lightly chilled, in a standard glass. It pairs well with pork, poultry and grilled oily fish.