Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
100% Carmenre. Natural wine with Lapierre consultancy, annual Dive Bouteille participation and Louis/Dressner imprimatur. I've been boring through the Clos Ouvert line in the never-ending hope of finding a Chilean red I might consider. The first two - 2007 Franco Chileno 14.5% and 2007 Otoo 14.0% - were disappointingly jammy, standard issue hot climate, though the latter had some appealing quirkiness. The 2008 Huaso, a pure Pas, was a step up, but still a bit disjointed and jammy. Investing against my final windmill, the 2008 Loncomilla, I finally found a measure of happiness.
Very interesting aromatic mix of plum (umeboshi), strawberry, epoxy and rosemary. Alcohol fumes, but none of the green pepper so often respirable in Carmen airs. Shows some rubber in the mouth, like licking a snorkel, but the weight and texture are attractive and the acid/sweet balance satisfying. No trace of wood, and surprisingly cool for 14.5. Acidity tastes natural, a feat that cannot be belittled, and the fruit, while pointing to jammy, is still within acceptable confines. A wine with a strong and interesting personality. Could this be a rare glimpse at that most elusive bird, Chilean terroir? Juan worth checking out, now that I've done the homework for you.
Very interesting aromatic mix of plum (umeboshi), strawberry, epoxy and rosemary. Alcohol fumes, but none of the green pepper so often respirable in Carmen airs. Shows some rubber in the mouth, like licking a snorkel, but the weight and texture are attractive and the acid/sweet balance satisfying. No trace of wood, and surprisingly cool for 14.5. Acidity tastes natural, a feat that cannot be belittled, and the fruit, while pointing to jammy, is still within acceptable confines. A wine with a strong and interesting personality. Could this be a rare glimpse at that most elusive bird, Chilean terroir? Juan worth checking out, now that I've done the homework for you.