Hello and welcome to this month's wine club, where we are heading to Bairrada, Portugal.
Just north of Lisbon, this Atlantic-influenced region wasn’t exactly the darling of 20th-century Portuguese wine but Bairrada has spent the last 12 years quietly refining its vinous offer. Before that its signature red grape, Baga, was cropped at punishing yields and handled… let’s call it 'rustically'. The results were uncompromising wines with more astringent tannin than a truckload of unripe Sangiovese. Fortunately, visionaries like Luis Pato knew Bairrada would slide into obscurity unless it changed course. Perfectly timed with Portugal’s leap onto the global wine stage, Pato pioneered a new style of red Bairrada — one that could charm hipster sommeliers and their trend-conscious clientele. Think Burgundy’s playbook: red-fruit perfume, electric freshness and tannins that whisper instead of shout. Aromatically expressive and undeniably pretty, it’s Baga built for the modern age.
Today, Bairrada exports growing volumes of premium Baga — wines of supreme elegance and complexity from a grape that’s finally trending for the right reasons. Portuguese wine lovers tend to favour moderate alcohol and approachable tannin, and we’re with them. The best part? Good Baga still ages gracefully for over a decade, but you don’t have to wait. Drink it young, old or anywhere in between. With food or without. And here’s the kicker: you can often snag a fantastic bottle for the price of an entry-level Burgundy. This is where you graduate when you’re tired of the same old varietals. It’s different, it’s delicious and it doesn’t try too hard. But don’t stop at red. Bairrada’s whites deserve their own spotlight.
The local pale-skinned star, Bical, is Portugal’s answer to the Sauvignon Blanc craze — except it’s a tad more interesting. Saline, textured and citrus-bright with a flinty edge, it’s the white for people who want SB’s zip but with more conversation.
So this month, we’re diving into clay country. Reds with soul, whites with spark and bubbles that could fool Champagne lovers in a blind lineup.
Saúde from Bairrada — Portugal’s Atlantic rebel, all grown up.
Sophie Robson, Lilith, May 2026
Filipa Pato 3B Rose 2024
- Producer: Filipa Pato
- Vintage: 2024
- Alcohol: 11.5%
- Drink: 8°C
- Price: €28
- Region: Bairrada, Portugal
- Grapes: Baga, Bical
- Drink at: Note, Variety Jones, September
Hailing from Óis do Bairro in Portugal’s historic Bairrada region, where Baga and Bical have thrived for centuries beneath the shadow of the Caramulo mountain, this Vinho de Mesa rosé is crafted in the traditional method with second fermentation in bottle. Left unfiltered and unfined to preserve its natural character and fine, persistent mousse, the wine begins in the vineyard: chalky clay midslopes from the Jurassic Inferior face east, soaking up Atlantic-cooled sun. Harvest starts early in August to capture vibrant acidity, and first fermentation kicks off with indigenous yeasts. With no dosage added, it stays bone-dry brut nature. In the glass, expect a clear salmon hue with delicate bubbles. The nose is expressive and lively, showing strawberries, pomegranate, and a whisper of anise. On the palate it’s refined and creamy, with a smooth, mineral-driven core that shifts into fruit-forward mid-palate flavours before finishing dry and refreshingly crisp. A stellar aperitif, it also shines alongside oriental and Asian cuisine. Drink now or cellar for up to 3 years.
Filipa Pato Dinamica Branco 2024
- Producer: Filipa Pato
- Vintage: 2024
- Alcohol: 11.5%
- Drink: 10°C
- Price: €21
- Region: Bairrada, Portugal
- Grapes: Arinto, Bical
- Drink at: Bang, Mamo, d'Olier St, September
This is Filipa and William’s “without makeup” take on Bical, sourced from chalky clay midslopes of Jurassic origin just 15 km from the Atlantic, with eastern sun exposure that gives freshness without losing ripeness. The grapes are handpicked from different vineyards, whole-bunch pressed, and fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled tank, with 10% going into old 500-600L French 'pipas' for a touch of texture. Bical is harvested in early September, while Arinto in the blend comes in 2–3 weeks later, and each is vinified separately before resting on fine lees all winter with no batonnage. The wine stabilizes naturally in the cold, and the final blend is made in early spring when everything is stable. It shows a brilliant straw yellow color with a greenish rim and good viscosity, leading with Bical’s signature pear notes, hints of iodine, and a wild-herb spiciness of thyme and rosemary. The palate is refined, creamy and mineral, with that Atlantic saltiness Filipa loves, a fruit-driven mid-palate and a dry, refreshing finish with lingering acidity. Serve at 8–10°C in fine glassware. It’s perfect with fresh goat and sheep cheeses like requeijão, raw and marinated fish, shellfish, grilled poultry, smoked quail and Mediterranean salads dressed with yuzu or lemon juice.
Filipa Pato, Post-Quer..s, 2024
- Producer: Filipa Pato
- Vintage: 2024
- Alcohol: 12%
- Drink: 12°C
- Price: €32
- Region: Bairrada, Portugal
- Grapes: Baga
- Drink at: Note, Fawn, Lignum, Woodruff
Up next a rare and limited wine (lucky us): here Pato looks to the region's Roman roots with Post-Quercus, meaning 'after oak', a Baga made entirely without barrels to let clay take the lead. Inspired by the amphorae the Romans left behind in this region of glowing valleys beneath the Caramulo mountains, they ferment and age the wine in 400–700L local clay amphorae, because clay is quite literally in Bairrada’s soil and name. The fruit is handpicked from 80+ year old biodynamic Baga parcels on chalky clay midslopes of Jurassic origin, just 15km from the Atlantic with eastern sun exposure. Partly destemmed, it ferments with indigenous yeasts, sees very little extraction, and spends a long maceration on skins before ageing six more months in amphora. The clay’s natural micro-oxygenation softens Baga’s famously firm tannins without masking its character. The result is a brilliant cherry red with present viscosity, showing a straightforward and pure nose of macerated cherries, raspberries, wild strawberries, dried cranberries, red flowers, dried herbs and a touch of black pepper. The palate is savoury and chalky with a gush of tart red fruit, refreshing lift and tension, while fine, integrated tannins sneak in at the end. At 12% alcohol, under 1.5 g/L sugar, unfined and unfiltered, it’s dry, vibrant and alive. This is Baga with no makeup: authentic, pure, and true to its ancestors. Only 3,457 bottles made. Drink or hold.
Dirk Niepoort, Drink Me, 2025
- Producer: Niepoort
- Vintage: 2025
- Alcohol: 12.5%
- Drink: 12°C
- Price: €28
- Region: Bairrada, Portugal
- Grapes: Baga
- Drink at: Two Faced, Fawn (Galway), Darog (Galway), The Arch (Cobh), Adega (Waterford)
Dirk Niepoort’s Bairrada story started in the mid-1990s when he made wine alongside Mário Sérgio at Quinta das Bágeiras and with Casa de Saima, but he truly committed in December 2012 with the purchase of Quinta de Baixo, convinced that Baga from Bairrada’s chalky, clay-limestone soils could be world-class when handled with restraint. His top reds reflect that belief: uncompromising, low-extraction fermentations, wild yeasts and patient ageing in large-format oak that lets the site speak, and his whites from the same soils are just as compelling, saline and textured with real cut. Yet Niepoort also understands the need for wines you can open on a Tuesday without ceremony, which is the whole idea behind the Nat Cool series he makes with a circle of winemaker friends across Portugal. Bottled in distinctive 1L bottles, these are authentic, low-intervention wines built for immediate pleasure and honest value, and this Baga is a perfect example. Fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel to preserve purity, it pours a translucent ruby and opens with juicy cherry, wild strawberry and plum skin, edged with rose petal and that tell-tale Atlantic sea-spray salinity Bairrada does so well. The palate is supple and energetic at 12.5% alcohol, driven by bright, mouthwatering acidity and framed by crunchy, fine-grained tannins that keep the tart red fruit focused rather than aggressive. It’s the kind of Baga that converts skeptics — no rusticity, no need for a decade in the cellar, just fresh, transparent and deeply drinkable. Bairrada itself is a region that gracefully bridges modern and traditional, absorbing international varieties and new tech while still stamping every bottle with its distinctive clay-and-ocean character, and you can still find reds and whites here that overdeliver for the price. Serve this one lightly chilled at 14C with roast suckling pig, piri-piri chicken, grilled sardines or a good pizza, and even though it's a litre, don’t expect it to last long once it’s open. Drink now through 2027.