Baton

Name: Baton
SKU: 70714
Price: 20.30 EUR
Availability: InStock

20.30 €

The collaboration between Carlos Lucas and Lúcia Freitas resulted in a unique wine that, as the producer rightly states, has the goal of bringing wine and people together.

Carlos Lucas believes that each bottle counts a story and reflects the brand’s desire to bring together this never-ending story’s 2 main characters – wine and those who drink it.

This Baton 2013 was born from a harvest in the second week of September.

The grapes were manually harvested to small 18 kg boxes following a meticulous two-step selection of the vineyard’s best grapes.

Baton wines come to us from the vineyards installed at Casal de Loivos, located in the sub-region of Cima-Corgo, a region famous for the excellence of its wines.

This village, which sleeps peacefully with a dreamy view of the Corgo and Douro rivers, has a look-out point named after it. Its location offers a breath-taking view of the landscape, making you feel like you could almost touch the sky.

The vineyards where the grapes that create this wine grow happily are planted in schist soils arranged in terraces. In this way, it’s possible to take advantage of Portugal’s grape diversity to offer to those lucky enough to enjoy wine.

As for this wine’s name, even if you let yourself believe a baton is a baton, it isn’t.
(Baton – pronounced the same as batom, meaning lipstick in Portuguese)

Baton is a reference to bâttonage, the mixing process the wine goes through. Its meaning refers to the mixing or agitation of the lees that settle at the bottom of a recipient.

This agitation places the lees once more in suspension, improving the wine’s taste and texture.

Enough talk. Seeing as this wine is ready to be opened, all we have left to say is…

Cheers! Here’s to you!

Description

Appellation: Porto and Douro
Style: Red
Oenologist: Carlos Lucas
Varieties: Tinta Barroca, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional

The Wine

Winemaking Process
Harvesting occurred in the second week of September. The grapes were manually harvested into small 18 kg boxes following a judicious selection of grapes that were still on the vine, followed by a second selection upon entering the winery. The grapes were totally destemmed into two small lagares where they macerated for two days at low temperatures before initiating alcoholic fermentation with native yeasts at controlled temperatures. Alcoholic fermentation lasted approximately 3 weeks, with homogenisation being achieved through foot treading. Once fermentation was finished, the wine was decanted into new French oak barrels. Battonage was carried out during the following 2 months until malolactic fermentation was initiated.

Staging
12 months in French oak barrels

Tasting Notes
Intense colour, enormously complex aroma where wild fruits, blackberry, raspberries and blueberries dominate. Spice and tobacco notes. Exquisite tannins and balanced acidity, giving it a long, elegant finish.

Technical Information

ABV: 14.5%
Total Acidity: 5.6 g/L
pH: 3.70
Total Sugars: 2.9 g/L

Recipe

Duck magret with celery puree, beetroot cubes and sautéed Chinese cabbage

Ingredients:

4 duck breasts (magret)
2 cooked beetroots, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 Chinese cabbage or pointed cabbage
200 gr bacon
2 tablespoons butter
Black pepper
Salt
Salt flower

Ingredients for the celery puree
1 kg celeriac or celery root
1 sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 anise star
1 tablespoon butter
Milk
Salt
Pepper
1 sheet parchment paper
Truffle oil (optional)

Preparation:

Start by preparing the celery puree.
Wash and peel the celeriac, cut into pieces and place in a tall pot together with the thyme sprig, bay leaf and star anise. Cover with milk and season with salt and pepper.
With a knife, cut the parchment paper into the same diameter as the pot and open a hole in the centre. This will serve as a ‘lid’ and avoid the milk spilling onto the stove.
Cook on moderate heat for 45 minutes.

Darin the celeriac and reserve a little of the cooking milk. Take out the thyme, bay leaf and star anise.
In a food processor, blend the celeriac, adding a spoonful of butter, truffle oil and a bit of the reserved milk. The puree should have a light texture. Reserve keeping warm.

With a sharp knife, trim any excess fat on the duck breasts without cutting off the skin. Score the skin without reaching the meat. Season with salt and pepper. In a hot, empty frying pan, place the duck breasts in skin-side down. Let the skin become golden in its own fat. If there’s too much fat, take it out with a spoon. When the skin is crispy, turn the breasts over and cook for a few minutes. The magret should be eaten rare or medium-rare; otherwise, it may become overcooked and tasteless. Take the magret out onto a chopping block or board and let rest. If you prefer the magret to be less rare, cook in the oven at 180°C for 5-6 minutes.

In the same frying pan, add the butter and sauté the bacon for 2-3 minutes. Add the laminated cabbage (strips the size of a finger, more or less). Season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes.

For plating, spread some puree on the bottom and, on top, distribute beetroot cubes. Next to the puree, the slightly drained cabbage and on top, the thickly sliced magret. If the slices are too thin, the meat will cool too quickly and may become chewy. Finish by sprinkling a little sea salt over the magret.