Recent content by Oswaldo Costa

It is spiffy, kinda yuppie-looking, but I enjoyed italicizing the is without the usual html code. Bravo for progress.

This is irrelevant to the discussion. Claude was talking about how much % increase in abv through chaptalization is legal, whether it's up to 1.5% or 2.0%, nothing to do with the degree of accuracy required in wine labels.

To allow for all that I don't know about the effects of judicious chaptalization, I used might instead of will. In any case, the effects of this extra half degree, coupled with the nfo, adds a degree of structure that, with lesser material, may taste like a miscalculation.

I am quite on board with the three preceding comments but would like to clear a possible misunderstanding contained within the understanding of my understanding: the suspicion of chaptalization was not based on a belief that I can distinguish between unchaptalized and judiciously chaptalized...

Yes, if mine is indicative, the Breuil is running out of time.

Tonight a 2014 Chidaine Breuil was, for the first time, a touch oxidized. Not enough to prevent consumption (i.e., Selosse level), bit a break from my experience of this vintage over the last six years or so.

Had a better bottle of the same two years ago, though still with a hint of oak, which this didn't show. Can't say anything for sure, but the higher than usual extraction (for a 1er Cru Burg) made me suspect that this might have been chaptalized to prolong fermentation. The higher than usual...

This was a bit of a mixed experience over the course of two evenings. On the liability side it seemed a bit over-extracted, with a mild tannic grip whose slightly muddled granularity felt closer to sediment (though the bottle stood upright for more than a day). Overall, not very friendly, even...

Sounds lovely, will be on the lookout.

This Cinsault from centenary own-rooted vines is such a joy to drink that I opened a second upon finishing the first (on day 3, but, until the recent decrease in drinking volume, no bottle of this caliber would have survived the evening unfinished). The (red) fruitiness is complex, vivid, and...

Agreed, time does seem to allow some submerged factors to reassert themselves, at least to some extent.

2022 Fedellos Bastarda 12% is a delicious and highly gluggable Trousseau from Galicia. This is usually my favorite cuvée from this producer, one of those few who can create defect-free naturals. It takes a couple of years to come around, then lasts well for a decade. Whole cluster or...

2019 La Onda North Yuba Amor Amarillo Blanco 12.6%, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Knew almost nothing about it, since nobody here has written about this winery, but hoped it would taste like a hipper white Bdx. Maceration and oxidative aromas, with a touch of band-aid. Quite tannic...

Yes, I ruled out VA on day 3 because that never blows off. If it had been, it would have been garden variety acetic acid, certainly not ethyl acetate. Some kind of reduction may be the case but, if so, it sure took its time to clear. The bite I associate with tartaric and, especially, malic...

After the lovely 2013 Wind Gap Pinot the other day I stayed close to the region with a 2013 Arnot-Roberts Que Syrah Vineyard Sonoma Coast Syrah 13%. It was a disconcerting experience that perhaps some of you gentlefolk might be able to shed some light on. On day 1, the apparently excellent...