Filipa Pato & William Wouters, Barrida DOC (Portugal) Bical 2018

 One of the great virtues of Portuguese winemakers is their embrace of indigenous grapes.  Filipa Pato perfectly demonstrates this loyalty to the native grape movement.  She is a fifth-generation winemaker.  Using biodynamic farming practices and minimal-intervention winemaking, Filipa and her husband, William Wouters, aim to create "terroir wines by uniting knowledge, art and nature to produce without makeup, wine with its own character.”  Their 2018 Nossa Calcario is a single-vineyard, 100% varietal Bical that’s aged for eight months in oak.  The wine is beautifully structured and exhibits the richness, complexity, and well-balanced acidity of a high-quality white Burgundy.  The palate has an impressive briny minerality carving through ripe pear and peach with hazelnut overtones.  The finish is long and layered.  There is plenty of structure to keep this wine going for another five years or more, but waiting is not needed as it is delicious right now.