JOURNAL #1 Meet Tiago Barbosa, the man getting MdQ’s wine into Paris’ best bars
Photo by “Revista de Vinhos”
Wine distributor, Tiago Barbosa, has been on this journey with us since the beginning, making sure MdQ’s wine reaches some of France’s best bars, including in Paris. He tells us more about his mission to elevate Portuguese wine abroad…
What do you do?
I’m originally from Porto, and have been in the wine industry for 25 years. A few years ago I started my company, Lagar, based in Paris, with the idea to get good low-intervention Portuguese wines into France. I mainly sell wine in the capital and around the country, but also in La Reunion and Luxembourg.
How did you begin this journey with MdQ?
I was looking for a good Clarete wine – a nice, light red – and found MdQ on social media, so I bought a few bottles. I liked it, and saw that the vineyard was one of the first in the Algarve to use its terroir, weather, and native varieties in a different way. Normally reds from the region are very strong, but MdQ’s was light, fresh and a great digestive.
I liked the project too, and the fact that MdQ was working with old vines and the most ancient grape varieties in Portugal – Crato Branco and Negra Mole. So I began working with Filipe, and his wine is now enjoyed in natural wine bars around France, but mostly Paris.
How do the old vines affect terroir?
It’s really important for the terroir to use those old vines – they have very deep, old roots, which allow the vines to access minerals and the best of the soil where they are, and be influenced by the other trees and plants on the estate, like the old olive and fig trees. So they help create a global vision of the estate.
What do the French think about Portuguese wine?
For most, Portuguese wine won’t be their everyday choice, but the French are very curious about other types of wine and grape varieties. They like to taste and try, and to travel the world through a bottle – that’s why wines with regional grape varieties and a unique terroir, like MdQ’s, are so important for recognition abroad.
My customers like two MdQs white wines best – Branco and Branco Especial (a '19 wine made from an abandoned vine which has since been brought to life by Filipe & Joana), and the Clarete. All are very versatile, easy-drinking wines, that go well with seafood as well as meat.
Is now the time for Portuguese wine abroad?
Portugal is definitely getting more recognition for its wines in France because vineyards like MdQ are taking a new approach with natural and low intervention wines, that are not aged so much in wood, but which instead make the most of native grape varieties.