Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
2006 La Pousse d’Or Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravières Blanc 12.5%
Lovely lemon citrus, mineral and white flowers aromas, imparting a sensation of freshness. Good acidity and body, but shows a mid-palate dip and ends too bitter. Also showing way too much oak at this point. Too bad; the nose promised more.
I like the idea of Uruguay as a wine producer, mostly due to the absence of the Andes (no El Condor Pasa playing in the background). So when MarkS had a good experience with Castillo Viejo a couple of weeks ago, I got me some (but couldn’t find the same). The alcohol levels were promising, but the website says they use super mature grapes. Beats me why they would do that, other than for copycat $’s, when they could differentiate from the neighbors by picking with higher natural acid. Anyway.
2007 Bodegas Castillo Viejo Catamayor Tannat Reserva de la Familia San José 12.5%
Smoked meat aromas. Savory, tangy, with good acidity, but standing out a bit too separately. Medium to strong tannins, but well integrated. Doesn’t taste too ripe, but shows too much wood, and could use more sweetness. As a package, not particularly pleasurable.
2005 Bodegas Castillo Viejo Catamayor Cabernet Franc Reserva de la Familia San José 13.0%
More attractive nose, with meats and herbs and attractive cab franc leather. Good acid/sweet balance, light tannins, correct ripeness, tilting lightly towards excess with cherry cordiality. But, again, too much wood. Still, quite a bit better than the preceding. So, the jury’s still out on these guys, but
Lovely lemon citrus, mineral and white flowers aromas, imparting a sensation of freshness. Good acidity and body, but shows a mid-palate dip and ends too bitter. Also showing way too much oak at this point. Too bad; the nose promised more.
I like the idea of Uruguay as a wine producer, mostly due to the absence of the Andes (no El Condor Pasa playing in the background). So when MarkS had a good experience with Castillo Viejo a couple of weeks ago, I got me some (but couldn’t find the same). The alcohol levels were promising, but the website says they use super mature grapes. Beats me why they would do that, other than for copycat $’s, when they could differentiate from the neighbors by picking with higher natural acid. Anyway.
2007 Bodegas Castillo Viejo Catamayor Tannat Reserva de la Familia San José 12.5%
Smoked meat aromas. Savory, tangy, with good acidity, but standing out a bit too separately. Medium to strong tannins, but well integrated. Doesn’t taste too ripe, but shows too much wood, and could use more sweetness. As a package, not particularly pleasurable.
2005 Bodegas Castillo Viejo Catamayor Cabernet Franc Reserva de la Familia San José 13.0%
More attractive nose, with meats and herbs and attractive cab franc leather. Good acid/sweet balance, light tannins, correct ripeness, tilting lightly towards excess with cherry cordiality. But, again, too much wood. Still, quite a bit better than the preceding. So, the jury’s still out on these guys, but