Brett happens

(More like without wild applause actually but the pun was irresistible.) As much as I appreciate swimmers against the current, the label’s bad boy posing almost convinced me to buy something else. On the other hand, I was making a Portuguese dish (pork chops pan-fried with whole garlic cloves and lemon wedges), was in the mood for a light red and this bottle from the father of Filipa Pato, whose wines I’ve enjoyed in the past, was the only Portuguese red at my local SAQ that was under 13%.

Beira Atlântico 2015, Pato Rebel, Luis Pato ($21.50, 13184419)
Baga (90%), Touriga Nacional (9%) and Bical (1%). The idea being to tame the ferociously tannic Baga, the grapes are macerated only briefly and fermented in temperature-controlled tanks. Reducing sugar: 1.7 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Pot de vin.
Blackberryish fruit, iron, dried blood, dark chocolate, background fern and bog. Medium-bodied and supple. The ripe fruit quickly fades leaving minerals and earthy savour but not a lot else. Structured by fresh acidity and fine tannins that swell astringently on the super-dry finish. Slate, old wood, old leather and vine sap linger. Somewhat austere and not particularly deep but a perfectly good food wine. Not beguiling though unlike anything else and involving in its somewhat inscrutable way. (Buy again? Sure.)