# Baga Novo Nat Cool Tinto (2023)

- **Producer:** Caves São João
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Baga
- **Region:** Bairrada, Portugal
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 11.0%
- **Average price:** €15
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now
- **Serving temperature:** 12–14 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** strawberry, cherry, raspberry, rose, black pepper

## About this wine

Caves São João was established in 1920 by the Costa brothers in Sangalhos, Portugal, and remains one of Bairrada's most historic winemaking estates. Traditionally famed for long-aging structured wines, the producer collaborated with winemaker Dirk Niepoort's Nat Cool movement to create Baga Novo. This concept focuses on minimalist, low-intervention red wines packaged in friendly one-liter bottles designed for effortless enjoyment and social sharing.

## Interesting facts

- Part of Dirk Niepoort's Nat Cool initiative, requiring low intervention and packaging in 1-liter bottles.
- Reimagines Baga, typically a deeply tannic variety requiring decades of aging, into a light, chillable red wine.
- Caves São João houses one of Europe's largest commercial libraries of old vintages dating back to 1959.

## Food pairing

The lively acidity and gentle tannin profile of this light-bodied red make it exceptionally versatile. It cleanly cuts through rich fats in roasted suckling pig or olive oil dishes without overpowering delicate seafood like octopus and clams.

## Wine making process

Grapes are harvested early from clay-limestone soils to maintain a low potential alcohol level and bright natural acidity. The winemaking process is non-interventionist, incorporating a brief maceration period followed by temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine matures entirely in stainless steel to retain maximum freshness before being bottled unfiltered into 1.0-liter bottles.