Text João Pedro de Carvalho | Translation Jani Dunne

We head to Bairrada, and more specifically, Fogueira (a parish in Sangalhos, Anadia municipality), where Quinta das Bágeiras is set, and where producer Mário Sérgio Nuno is expecting us. His is an unavoidable name in Bairrada, as well as of Portugal’s table wines. The labels and bottles have a bonfire for a symbol, which is also the name of the place they come from; however, this symbol marks the beginning of Mário Sérgio as a young farmer and wine producer. This is the fruit of a gift from a well-known friend of his who is also a producer. The Fogueira brand, which could not be a wine brand because it was also the name of the town, eventually emerged as a symbol for wines by Quinta das Bágeiras.

The work of three generations only began production and bottling as their own brand when Mário Sérgio Alves Nuno took over; before that, everything was sold in bulk. Everything started with the production of the 1987 harvest, which had almost entirely been sold to Caves São João, and Mário Sérgio asked his father to keep a vat so he could make his own wine. This decision later proved successful as it won third prize on the wine competition for the IVV (the Vineyard and Wine Institute) with the first white to be released in 1989. Rui Moura Alves is in charge of oenology, an oenologist and friend who has stood by Mário Sérgio from the first moment onwards, and who has been responsible for the brand’s success and reference status in production, attained in the 90s.

Mário Sérgio Nuno – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Avô Fausto – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

The whites in Bágeiras branch out into sparkling wines, harvest, Garrafeira, Pai Abel, and Avô Fausto. Mário Sérgio prefers flat and clay-calcareous grounds for his whites, at low heights, from which Bical and Maria Gomes varieties sprout. He brings in three harvests of the Baga grape variety; the first for brandy, the second for sparkling wines, and the third for the reds. He recovered and kept the parcel that belonged to his parents and grandparents. The originally 30 acres have grown into 70. For over 25 years, they have been producing wines that face the more traditional Bairrada, oenologic minimalism, decanting in open presses, and ageing in old vats, using no fining agents or filtrations, with their very own identity and rusticity that convey all the authenticity that typify them.

Upon visiting the facilities, one notices that, all around, modernity insists on staying away, and the knowledge is passed down from generation to generation – this is a family business, after all. This knowledge has been put into practice with all their wines from the beginning, and commemorated by Mário Sérgio in the shape of new launches that feature his (father) Pai Abel and (grandfather) Avô Fausto. This time, the highlight is on the last two and also the most recent; Pai Abel is, in fact, a tribute to his father, who despite being 80, is still working on the vines and handing all his knowledge over to the younger generations.

This white Pai Abel 2013 is a white from a vineyard that is over 20 years old, and made from Maria Gomes and Bical grape varieties. What matters is the product’s end quality, hence the very small production, as the first grapes collected from the vines become sparkling wines, and finally the second collection makes white. It ferments in small-capacity, used barrels. Only the Garrafeira is made using vats. In this case, what we receive in our glass is a tense and very precise white, complex, with firm aromas, revealing its youth and a mineral trace in the background. At the same time, the wood conveys good volume, ripe fruit with herbal teas, an ample mouth with a lot of freshness, deep, and full of guts, with great persistence, in a wine that will last many years in the bottle.

Pai Abel white 2013 – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

Avô Fausto white 2014 – Photo by João Pedro de Carvalho | All Rights Reserved

The second wine emerges in tribute to his grandfather, Fausto Nuno, who triggered his own taste for wine, and who is also responsible for the family’s calling for wine growing and producing. Avô Fausto white 2014 is a white from old vineyards and from 15-year-old vineyards, with a profile that would suit Fausto Nuno’s taste; elegant, refreshing and soft. In this case, only Maria Gomes has aged in casks; aromatic, very precise, refreshing and delicate, and simultaneously tense and full of guts, perfume of roses, very citrusy, accompanied by resin-like notes and a very subtle buttery texture. A different approach signed by Quinta das Bágeiras.

Contacts
Fogueira
3780-523 Sangalhos, Aveiro
Portugal
Tel: (+351) 234 742 102
Mobile: (+351) 964 190 336
E-mail: quintadasbageiras@mail.telepac.pt
Website: www.quintadasbageiras.pt