Bairrada, Portugal
There are few rules when it comes to building a portfolio, but one gold standard is that if you start with quality, you will attract more of the same. Fílipa is good friends with Alvaro Castro and Mário Sérgio (not to mention Heidi Schröck), Vasco Croft loves her wines, and you can guess the rest. This daughter of legendary Bairrada producer Luis Pato began by producing wines in the larger appellation of Beiras (and the Dão). She purchased a small winery in Bairrada, which she has now significantly expanded (by digging downwards!). Eventually, it is assumed, she will reunite with her father’s estate, but, in the meantime, she has carved a big international name for herself by dint of her strikingly expressive and honest wines, so reflective of her own character. Joined now by her husband, renowned Belgian sommelier Willem Wouters, they have enthusiastically embraced the rigours of bio-dynamism. They have been steadily buying up new parcels of land, all within 10 km. of the home-base, some planted to old vines, others being replanted with massal selections. The estate is up to 15 hectares now, with a final goal of 22. As you can see, they constantly sell out.