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LUIS PATO
Luis Pato, Vinha Formal 2010 Bairrada 17 Drink 2011-2015
Barrel fermented and six months in used oak.
Fine, creamy nose, delicate citrus with a touch of apricot.
Refined. Intense and with that same slight resin note. Lovely mineral
edge to it though it is full in the mouth. (Only Pé Franco has new oak.)
Attractive wild edge and great acidity. (JH)
Luis Pato, Vinhas Velhas 2010 Vinho Regional Beiras 17 Drink 2012-2016
Bical, Cerceal, Sercialinho. Bical on clay-limestone soil. Cerceal and Sercialinho on sandy soil. Unoaked.
Cedary citrus on the nose and o n the palate. A creamy texture
opening up to lemon and apricot fruit with that cedary character on the
aftertaste. Terrific freshness and energy. Just a baby. (JH) 12%
Luis Pato, Vinha Formal 2009 Bairrada 17 Drink 2013-2022
Clay-limestone soil and sun until mid afternoon. High limestone content.
Pale straw. Fabulously inviting nose of baked apples and a touch of
orange and honey and central Portugal's cedary resinous note. Highly
aromatic. Much more cedary on the palate, so fresh as well as rich and
full bodied. Mouthfilling depth. Very young and more to come. (JH)
13%
Luis Pato, Vinhas Velhas 2005 Vinho Regional Beiras 17 Drink 2008-2015
Pale gold. Fabulously intense and complex aroma - honeyed cedar, herbs
and balsam, a touch smoky but also fragrant apricot-like aromas. Elegant
and lively on the palate, such a light touch after the intensity of the
aroma. Fascinating and refined. Seems as if it might even be a little
reductive or perhaps that is the mineral component coming through. (JH)
Luis Pato, Vinhas Velhas 2003 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5 Drink 2007-2012
Bical. Last year that Pato made this wine from Bical grown on sandy
soils (50%), later on from vines grown on chalky clay from Vinha Formal.
25% Cerceal on sandy soil and 25% Sercialinho. Bical from chalky clay
is richer in the mouth.
Bright pale gold. Lots of cedary notes on the nose. Resin and
herbs. Intense freshness and yet quite broad in the mouth. And gently
honeyed. Rich and long but with that seam of acidity. More developed
than average because it was a warmer year. (JH) 12.5%
Luis Pato, Vinha Formal 1999 Bairrada 17.5 Drink 2005-2015
Bright mid gold. Toasty and nutty like Hunter Semillon on the nose even
though there is far more weight on the palate. Lemon marmalade on toast.
Toasty on the palate too, tasting not bone dry. Rich and intense and
long and resinous (linseed?) on the finish. Not sure what you would eat
with it as there is just so much concentration and strong flavours.
Really assertive, verging on aggressive, and marked freshness even with
all that power. (JH)
13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Formal 1998 Bairrada 16.5 Drink 2004-2018
The first vintage of white Formal. Quite a bit darker gold than the 1999. First bottle badly corked.
Second bottle: mid gold. Wonderfully inviting aroma: gentle notes of
spiced honey, cedar/resin, bitter orange, then a fine combination of
heather honey and a more savoury cedary flavour on the palate.
Assertive. Fully dry, fresh, long. A love-it-or-hate-it wine. (JH)
13%
Luis Pato, Vinhas Velhas 1995 Bairrada 16.5 Drink 2000-2014
Bical, Maria Gomes, Cerceal.
Deep orangey gold. Honeyed,
just a touch of linseed, even a little minty, orange notes too; really
developed on the palate but not oxidised. Fresh, complex, just a tad
rustic. Long though. (JH) 12.5%
Luis Pato, Vinha Formal Bruto Rosé 2009 Bairrada 17 Drink 2012-2014
Baga and Touriga Nacional. Picked 25 August, fermented 30 days in second-use 650-litre French oak.
Very pale orangey pink - like Tavel rosé. Delicate red fruit on the
nose, lightly fragrant. Fine, sustained mousse. Dry, quite sober,
persistent, refined. Mouthwatering and easy to drink even though it is
not simple - the fruit softens the acidity. Good alone or with food.
(JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Informal Rosé 2010 Vinho Espumante 17 Drink 2011-2012
100% Baga fizz. Single vineyard. 'Baga da Vinha Pan'. Crown cap.
More red fruit than in the Quinta da Moinho. High citrus acidity.
Tight and so fresh and zesty. More depth and length and more open than
the Quinta da Moinho. (JH) 12%
Luis Pato, Quinta do Moinho Rosé 2010 Vinho Espumante 16.5 Drink 2011-2012
100% Baga fizz. Single vineyard. Some bottles will be late
disgorged. Made from free-run juice. Will lose colour because there's
been no skin contact – only the short time between the vineyard and the
winery.
Bright salmon pink. Very fresh, tight, lots of fruit – citrus and apple but also a red-fruit flavour. Fine bead. (JH)
Luis Pato, AM 2010 Bairrada 16.5 Drink 2012-2016
Baga. Interrupted ferment followed by cryoextraction. AM = Abofado Molecular.
Bright
cherry red. Sweet, intense and lifted red cherry fruit. Smells like
quite a bit of VA. Delicious essence of cherries but with convincing
freshness and juiciness. Soft tannins, bags of energy, the flavour quite
simple at the moment. I wonder how it will age? (JH) 9%
Luis Pato, Pato Rebel 2010 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5 Drink 2012-2015
Baga. Deep cherry colour. Rich and quite dark-fruited for Baga. Rich,
soft cherry fruit but still has Baga-fresh acidity even though the
tannins are uncharacteristically smooth - but then this is what Luis
Pato was aiming for. You can't get away from the dry, food-friendly
finish. Sour-cherry freshness on the finish but a carressing texture.
(JH) 13%
Luis Pato, BTT 2009 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5 Drink 2013-2017
BTT = Baga, Touriga Nacional and Tinto Cão.
Deep crimson.
Fragrant, slightly dusty small dark-berried fruit. Hint of sweet oak
spice and toast and perhaps eucalyptus and more red fruite d as it opens
up. Lovely fragrance. On the palate, so rich and juicy and fresh and
scented too. Real depth of fruit but has the freshness to match. Dense,
sandy tannins. Long and satisfying.
GV (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Formal Touriga Nacional 2008 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5 Drink 2014-2018
Inky dark core. Delicate dark fruit on the nose. Dark and restrained.
More austere than Pato’s BTT, finer tannins but less pleasure, at least
at the moment. After time in glass – lots of oak char and a touch of
coffee. Very marked by the oak at the moment. (JH)
13%
Luis Pato, Quinta do Ribeirinho Pé Franco 2011 Vinho Regional Beiras 17 Drink 2013-2023
Baga. Ungrafted vines.
Lovely (white) peppery and dusty nose with intense but introverted
red fruit aromas - the raspberry and graphite character of Loire
Cabernet Franc but without the leafiness. Going back to it, there's also
a definite minty character. Bright and lively and so fresh with a firm
tannic structure - though the tannins are super-fine – that is a perfect
fit with the depth of fresh,vibrant fruit giving excellent balance even
now. Becomes more fragrant in the glass. Minerally chew on the finish.
Tight and energetic. (JH) 12%
Luis Pato, Valadas Vineyard Pé Franco 2011 Bairrada 17 Drink 2015-2020
Baga. Ungrafted vines.
Smells so much sweeter than the Quinta do Ribeirinho Pé Franco
2011, with some mocha overlaying the ripe sweet fruit. Blind, I would
have thought it was aged in Amercan oak. I don't know if there is more
oak but it certainly seems to show more. Very chocolatey on the palate,
like cherry milk chocolate, caressing and generous and concentrated.
Lovely freshness to undermine that sweetness on the mid palate though
the finish is chocolatey too. (JH)
Luis Pato, Quinta do Ribeirinho Pé Franco 2009 Vinho Regional Beiras 19 Drink 2017-2040
Baga. 1,000 bottles and 100 magnums and 50 double magnums.
19th-century label (turned sideways to show it needs to be laid down).
Planted 1988 ungrafted on sandy soil. 2.5 ha. 8,000 vines/ha instead of
more usual 4,000. One bunch per plant. Very small bunches. 3-metre
roots. 'The poverty of the soil is the richness of the grapes.' This
vineyard is usually the first to reach phenolic maturity. 100% new oak.
Deep garnet. Amazing nose: spicy oak, and just a little toasty but
something perfumed like lily of the valley. Smells rich and inviting.
Full and sweet. Dark intense damson fruit and just a touch minty. Rich,
voluptuous and yet fresh and structured. Intensity is amazing and seems
effortless. Dense but forgiving tannins. Concentrated and endless.
Caressing and rich. Unspittable. (JH)
Luis Pato, Quinta do Ribeirinho Pé Franco 2008 Vinho Regional Beiras 17+ Drink 2015-2025
Rich, spicy dark fruit. Blackberry and juicy damson. Rich but so fresh
and primary. Finest of dry tannins and so fresh. Texture is relatively
dry and a little austere but very elegant. Upright and not quite sure of
itself yet. Mouthwatering finish. (JH)
13%
Luis Pato, Quinta do Ribeirinho Pé Franco 2003 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5 Drink 2010-2018
Very different aroma from the 2001. More subdued mulberry and blueberry
and a little bit stalky but ripe strawberry too. Perhaps less depth than
the 2001 but it's silky, fresh and harmonious with red fruit freshness
on the finish. Just a little drying on the finish and a bit leathery in
texture and flavour. (JH)
13%
Luis Pato, Quinta do Ribeirinho Pé Franco 2001 Vinho Regional Beiras 17.5 Drink 2011-2026
Gorgeous aroma – rich and sweet and developed but with a subtle
eucalyptus note still in evidence even with all that tertiary
complexity; blackcurrants steeped in alcohol without any overripe
jamminess. Silky, fresh and full of energy. Still so much fresh bright
fruit on the palate even after all this time in bottle and with all that
undergrowth seeping in. Shapely tannic backbone. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinhas Velhas 2009 Vinho Regional Beiras 17 Drink 2013-2019
Baga. 45-year-old vines. 12 months in new and used French oak.
Bright, deep cherry red. Lively red cherries on the nose too. Red fruit
and a little herbal on the palate. Pure and concentrated without excess
weight. Fine, taut and juicy, already surprisingly approachable. (JH)
13%
Luis Pato, Vinhas Velhas 2001 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5+ Drink 2010-2020
Deep garnet with soft pink rim. More meaty and savoury on the nose than
the 1995. Still very young and strapped in with the tannins though
there's fruit at the core to fill out the structure. Still pretty tight
but fine grained and fresh and persistent and finishes more savoury.
(JH)
13%
Luis Pato, Vinhas Velhas 1995 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5 Drink 2000-2015
Mid garnet with brick rim. Youthful aromas of soft red fruit and
vanilla, just the beginning of mulched leaves but the fruit sweetness
prevails. Then quite austere on the palate but fresh, dry, and tannins
still pretty firm. Much better harmony than the 1988. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Barrosa 2005 Vinho Regional Beiras 18 Drink 2011-2030
Baga. Barrosa (barro = clay) vines at least 80 years old. Often the earliest Baga vineyard to reach maturity.
Deeper ruby than the Vinha Pan. More intense on the nose and more
spicy. Richer and denser with that old-vine concentration. Slightly
darker fruit flavour. Acidity is just as fine but less evident. A little
more velvety on the palate. Tannins thicker. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Barrosa 2005 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5+ Drink 2012-2020
Vines 80–90+ years. Clay-limestone soils.
Deep crimson.
Rich, dark fruited – dark cherry – with the merest hint of eucalyptus.
Then much drier than I expected on the palate, not as muc h of a whole
as the Pan 2005. Fine-boned structure, hard to tell how it will age
because it doesn't seem to have the mid-palate weight to balance the
structure for the very long term but it could make old bones in a more
austere style. But see my other tasting note on this wine, which leads
me to think this was not a great bottle. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Barrosa 2003 Vinho Regional Beiras 17 Drink 2008-2018
Baga. Darker, almost plummy notes at first but also a touch herbal.
Sweeter on the palate and really quite soft and gentle but still dense
and fresh. A little leathery. Freshness comes back on the finish. (JH)
13.5%
Luis Pato, Vinha Barrosa 2003 Vinho Regional Beiras 16 Drink 2010-2015
Vines 80–90+ years. Clay-limestone soils. 'My best wine is the Pé
Franco but I will be famous for the Barrosa' is apparently what Luis
Pato tends to say.
Like the Pan, the 2003 is more bricky than
the 2001. Looks older. Tea-leaf aroma, tobacco, tomato leaf. More open
than the 2001 but tarter to o, less well balanced overall. Leaner in the
middle but still juicy on the finish. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Barrosa 2001 Vinho Regional Beiras 17.5+ Drink 2012-2026
Vines are 80-90+ years. Clay-limestone soils. Deep garnet with
soft pinkish rim. Highly aromatic – sweet red cherry, light touch of
eucalyptus, some spice. Lots of pure fruit and much less tertiary than
the Vinha Pan. Finely wrapped by the dry sandy tannins, so youthful
still and needing time for the palate to become more scented like the
nose, for those tannins to release the fragrant fruit. A little bit
stern on the finish now but all in harmony for a still-long future. Bags
of cherry-red fruit hiding on the finish. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Barrosa 1997 Bairrada 17.5 Drink 2007-2026
Baga. Garnet starting to show some brown. A lot of spice and less
undergrowth than on the Vinha Pan at first though it develops in the
glass. Perfumed nose and great sweet/fresh contrast on the palate. Rich
and dense and long. Velvety firm tannins. Very long and surprisingly
taut at the end and still quite a grip even though it has that initial
smoothness. (JH) 13.5%
Luis Pato, Vinha Barrio 2001 Vinho Regional Beiras 17.5 Drink 2012-2024
Deep garnet, darker than the 2000. More coffee and walnuts than in 2000.
Definitely more savoury. Less muscular than the 2000, less expressive
on the nose, more sinewy but also more finesse overall in the structure.
Firm grip still there on the finish. Really only just starting to drink
now. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Barrio 2001 Vinho Regional Beiras 17.5 Drink 2013-2025
Last vintage before the vines were replanted.
More open
than the Moinho even though it has not been aerated as much. Pepper and
spice and red fruit again and a little bit of eucalyptus. Moreish and
full flavoured and warm without the warmth of alcohol. Mouthfilling and
yet still fresh. Dense, tense complexity. (JH)
Luis Pato, Vinha Barrio 2000 Vinho Regional Beiras 17 Drink 2010-2022
Chalky clay soils in the Barrio vineyard. Deep ruby with brick rim.
Aromas already quite developed – red fruit, tomato leaf, eucalyptus,
spice and pepper and you can smell the freshness – red fruit coming back
to prevail. Hint of polished wood. Firmly structured around both the
tannins and the acidity but lithe as well as dense. Muscular but not a
body builder. (JH) 12.5%
Luis Pato, Vinha Pan 2005 Vinho Regional Beiras 17.5 Drink 2011-2030
31-year-old vineyard. Luis Pato's best vintage up to 2009. Pure
Baga. This was the first year he did not do a green harvest because he
started to use the less ripe fruit for the sparkling Informal – a green
harvest with a purpose.
Deep crimson. Complex nose of red fruit
and cedary and just a hint of eucalyptus. On the palate, dry and fresh
but with a rounded sweetness of red fruit even though the tannins
counteract the sweetness. Juicy and so fresh. Concentrated and silky
even though the tannins are still so present. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Pan 2005 Vinho Regional Beiras 17 Drink 2013-2025
20% vines are 80+ years old. Dark, youthful garnet. Rich dark
fruit overlaid with light eucalyptus aroma giving it a herbal/medicinal
character. Sweet and aromatic. Strongly aromatic on the palate, has the
freshness you'd expect of Baga and is a little austere but very
different from the 2003. This is more elegant, though the tannins still
exert a firm grip without suppressing the juicy finish. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Pan 2003 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5 Drink 2008-2015
Baga. Developing more quickly than normal quickly because it was a hot
year. Has those same woody notes as other vintages but also some
undergrowth showing. Complex and quite spicy, and the tannins are soft.
Spice and salt and pepper come out with age. Still has fine red fruit.
Thicker tannin than the 2005 but still quite a grip. Softer and less
elegant. (JH) 13.5%
Luis Pato, Vinha Pan 2003 Vinho Regional Beiras 16 Drink 2008-2015
Deep garnet but older looking than the 2001, more brick at the rim. Odd
nose at first, a bit stinky, then bloody and meaty with air. Then some
red cherry eventually emerges. More marked acidity and leaner than the
2001, much more ready to drink but a bit lean in the middle for a very
long life? (JH) 13.5%
Luis Pato, Vinha Pan 2001 Vinho Regional Beiras 17+ Drink 2012-2025
Baga. Velvety garnet colour. Back to some cedary freshness. Lovely tight
classic Baga red fruit, still quite young though complex with a touch
of undergrowth. Tight and juicy and sweet fruited but so elegant and
very long. Really pretty tannic still. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Pan 2001 Vinho Regional Beiras 17 Drink 2011-2021
Deep garnet with a hint of brick. Savoury aroma – liquorice as well as
undergrowth and dried walnuts with dried red fruits, into jam, hiding
underneath. Pretty dry tannins, quite austere, tightly held in its
tannin corset though the tannins are like fine sand. Fresh and moreish –
needs food and a long evening to open up in the glass. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Pan 1997 Bairrada 18 Drink 2007-2022
Baga. Rich warm garnet colour. Wonderful aromas of leathery and spicy
red plums and still that lovely fresh red fruit of Baga. Sweet decaying
undergrowth but then a streak of red fruit still there. Developed and
yet so fragrant. Still structured but tannins are resolved and
beautifully balanced, then that freshness turns up again at the end.
Changes in your mouth as well as in the glass and goes on and on.
Fabulous. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Vinha Pan 1996 Bairrada 17.5 Drink 2005-2016
Baga. Bright, dense ruby. Delicate and fragrantly sweet. Some leather
and spicy damson. Difficult to describe. Dry and yet still so juicy.
Fine tannins and also lively and in balance and long. Freshness of
acidity seems to have kept the fruit fresh. Scented red fruit on the mid
palate. Coming back to it, it seems to have become more delicate and
the red fruit has reappeared. (JH)
Luis Pato, Quinta do Moinho 2001 Vinho Regional Beiras 17+ Drink 2014-2030
Much darker than the Barrosa 2001. Spicy black fruit. Leather and
undergrowth, and again the herbal edge. Darker fruit, taut and more
austere though tannins are very fine. Freshness less evident. Closed up
and a little reduced. Not filtered. Doesn't have Baga's red fruit but it
has all the structure. (JH) 13%
Luis Pato, Quinta do Moinho 1999 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5 Drink 2005-2016
Moinho = windmill. After 2000, there were several vintages without a Moinho (fruit went into Vinhas Velhas).
Deep garnet again and looks more than a year younger than the 1998 but
smells a good deal more developed. Strong undergrowth and earthy notes
and meat extract. Much more fluid on the palate than the 1998, with a
better future more likely. Firm but fine grained and fresh though the
tannins are still very present on the finish. (JH) 13.5%
Luis Pato, Quinta do Moinho 1998 Vinho Regional Beiras 16 Drink 2006-2014
Clay limestone. Deep garnet with brick rim. Sweet and a little jammy on
the nose. Fig jam but with a savoury, slightly earthy overlay plus the
vestiges of tart red-fruit aroma. Firm, dry, a bit of a block of flavour
at the moment as if there were a dam on the mid palate preventing the
wine from spreading on the finish. Pretty obdurate in its grip. Hard to
tell how this will age. (JH) 13.5%
Luis Pato, Quinta do Ribeirinho Primeira Escolha 1997 Bairrada 17 Drink 2007-2020
75% Baga, 25% Touriga Nacional. Sandy property that belonged to Pato's family. Decanted (on Pato's advice).
Deep bricky red, garnet core. Sweet red and delicate senescence. Quince
marmalade as it opens. Autumnal undergrowth, perhaps very slightly
minty and cedary. Fragrant. Then unexpectedly dense and rich and velvety
on the palate. Such unexpected richness, chewy and smooth at the same
time. Surprisingly powerful. (JH) 12.5%
Luis Pato 1980 Bairrada 16.5 Drink 1990-2015
Pato's first wine. 100% Baga.
Deep tawny red. Delicious
aroma when first open: a little leafy, lots of undergrowth, and also a
sweet spiciness of dried red fruits, dried plums, perhaps also dried
tomato, coffee. So much going on. More savoury on the palate, walnuts, a
little earthy, dried tomato a gain. Fresh and not drying though it is
clearly a senior and the aromas become less enticing with air. (JH) 12%
Luis Pato, AM 2009 Vinho Regional Beiras 16.5 Drink 2012-2015
Sweet red made from 100% Baga from the Vina Pan vineyard. AM = Abofado Molecular.
Deep dark like elderberry juice. Sweet, intense aromas of damson, plum,
elderberry and black cherry, jammy spice too. Smells soft and warm.
Excellent combination of sweetness and tannic grip. Can't quite see this
as an aperitif, as Pato suggests on the label, but it's delicious. More
a meditation wine. Delicious with dark chocolate – counteracts the
tannins and highlights the juicy fruit. For drinking while the fruit is
at its peak though I dare say it would last a lot longer. (JH) 10%