Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
After sixteen days in Portugal, it was good to be back to domestic routine, even if just for a handful of days. But French wine, feeling jilted & spurned, didn't cooperate, as wantonly treated lovers are wont.
2004 Tissot Pinot Noir En Barberon Jura 13.0%
This looked enticing at Chambers last time I was there. At checkout, David Lillie suggests I don't buy it because he had recently opened some and there was something wrong with it. I asked if it could just be bottle variation. He said unlikely because it tasted like it had been left in the barrels too long. Intrigued with this (to me) novel flaw, I decided to check it out for myself (David let me have it at cost, somewhere in the painless teens). Color is a dull, turbid magenta. A faint whiff of struggling cherry and a nice dose of cloves greet the hopeful nostrils. Some nice fruit finds its initial way to the buds, like an outstretched arm reaching out from quicksand, but an acrid bitterness frames the entire, engendering a beeline to the sink. A Frederick Wildman import and a must to avoid.
2006 Guion Bourgueil Cuvee Prestige 12.5%
Cherry aromas and that beautiful Cabernet Franc note that condones bondage to leather. Good and cutting acidity, light but decent weight, pleasant little tannins, fresh and attractive fruit. Easy drinking, like a juice, but seems to deliver all its got upfront. Next comes a hollow mid-palate and no finish to speak of. I asked Marcia what she thought and she said she found it strange that it didnt react at all to the food. Intrigued with this (to me) novel complaint, I tasted, in sequence, two cheeses and a ham with the wine and found it, indeed, impervious. How odd.
And now a (to me) novel wine glass tasting note:
Officina Alessi Albertos Vineyard EO01SET
Received for Christmas from my sister, this is an unusual two-in-one wine glass manufactured by Alessi. It is asymmetrical, meant for white on one side and red on the other. The idea is smart but the reality didnt live up to it. The glass is a bit thick, probably meant for rough and tumble dishwashers. The rims, while polished, feel chunky and clunky, like tumblers. The containing ogive is right for many whites but too narrow for most reds, showing quite why glasses differ. A pass, though a pretty one. And it may have done a disservice to the Guion.
2004 Tissot Pinot Noir En Barberon Jura 13.0%
This looked enticing at Chambers last time I was there. At checkout, David Lillie suggests I don't buy it because he had recently opened some and there was something wrong with it. I asked if it could just be bottle variation. He said unlikely because it tasted like it had been left in the barrels too long. Intrigued with this (to me) novel flaw, I decided to check it out for myself (David let me have it at cost, somewhere in the painless teens). Color is a dull, turbid magenta. A faint whiff of struggling cherry and a nice dose of cloves greet the hopeful nostrils. Some nice fruit finds its initial way to the buds, like an outstretched arm reaching out from quicksand, but an acrid bitterness frames the entire, engendering a beeline to the sink. A Frederick Wildman import and a must to avoid.
2006 Guion Bourgueil Cuvee Prestige 12.5%
Cherry aromas and that beautiful Cabernet Franc note that condones bondage to leather. Good and cutting acidity, light but decent weight, pleasant little tannins, fresh and attractive fruit. Easy drinking, like a juice, but seems to deliver all its got upfront. Next comes a hollow mid-palate and no finish to speak of. I asked Marcia what she thought and she said she found it strange that it didnt react at all to the food. Intrigued with this (to me) novel complaint, I tasted, in sequence, two cheeses and a ham with the wine and found it, indeed, impervious. How odd.
And now a (to me) novel wine glass tasting note:
Received for Christmas from my sister, this is an unusual two-in-one wine glass manufactured by Alessi. It is asymmetrical, meant for white on one side and red on the other. The idea is smart but the reality didnt live up to it. The glass is a bit thick, probably meant for rough and tumble dishwashers. The rims, while polished, feel chunky and clunky, like tumblers. The containing ogive is right for many whites but too narrow for most reds, showing quite why glasses differ. A pass, though a pretty one. And it may have done a disservice to the Guion.
