The Duckman wines express the true character of Bairrada’s indigenous varietals and its exceptional maritime influence. There are no indications of the region on the labels, done intentionally to demonstrate an acute sense of place and varietal typicity through minimal intervention in the cellar. Maria Pato, the daughter of Luis Pato, created this project because of her love of the region and varietals, so much so that she felt constrained by the standards of Bairrada wine making. For both of them only the indigenous varietals can be Bairrada wine, not imports that want to claim it as their own identity. Luis and Maria work from two main vineyards, Amoreira da Gândara which is composed of mostly sandy soils, and Óis do Bairro which is composed of mostly chalky-clay soils.
From 3 hectares of 20 year old vines planted to chalky-clay soils and sandy soils. The grapes are hand-harvested between early and mid September, de-stemmed with spontaneous fermentation in chestnut and French oak with ambient yeasts lasting three weeks with temperature control. The wine spends six months on lees with stirring and aged casks (50%) and stainless steel (50%) for six months. Unfined and unfiltered.
