Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
2008 Tissot Arbois Chardonnay 13.0%
Nice combo of hay, metal and caramel. Mildly (and, for me, ideally) oxidative, lovely acidity, well balanced with fruit. Nice bitter finish. Just a peach.
1982 Caves Vale do Rodo Cabeça de Burro Douro 12.5%
Cabeça de Burro means Donkey’s Head. According to our generous Portuguese host, 1982 is a legendary vintage in the Douro, and he had been saving his last bottle of this classic to open with this cantankerous fan of old fashion. Delicate aromas of sour cherry, leather and herbs. Fresh acidity, again balanced by lovely fruit. Tastes mature yet young, refined and elegant, a testament to the days of balanced Douro reds. No idea what varieties this contains; must be a field blend from one of those old Portuguese vineyards that mix the assorted with the miscellaneous.
Time for a rant: the sizzling hot slopes surrounding the Douro, ideally suited for making the super ripe grapes ideal for port, favor high testosterone dry reds favored by serial tasters. To compensate, many, if not most, of the musts have to be acidified. Like in the Andes. This Cabeça de Burro shows that, at least in the past, this did not need to be. Like in the Andes (if old style Weinerts & Montchenots are any indication). If global warming doesn’t explain most of the generational increase in brawn, those responsible should be damned to the fourth circle for no longer making such subtle paeans.
Nice combo of hay, metal and caramel. Mildly (and, for me, ideally) oxidative, lovely acidity, well balanced with fruit. Nice bitter finish. Just a peach.
1982 Caves Vale do Rodo Cabeça de Burro Douro 12.5%
Cabeça de Burro means Donkey’s Head. According to our generous Portuguese host, 1982 is a legendary vintage in the Douro, and he had been saving his last bottle of this classic to open with this cantankerous fan of old fashion. Delicate aromas of sour cherry, leather and herbs. Fresh acidity, again balanced by lovely fruit. Tastes mature yet young, refined and elegant, a testament to the days of balanced Douro reds. No idea what varieties this contains; must be a field blend from one of those old Portuguese vineyards that mix the assorted with the miscellaneous.
Time for a rant: the sizzling hot slopes surrounding the Douro, ideally suited for making the super ripe grapes ideal for port, favor high testosterone dry reds favored by serial tasters. To compensate, many, if not most, of the musts have to be acidified. Like in the Andes. This Cabeça de Burro shows that, at least in the past, this did not need to be. Like in the Andes (if old style Weinerts & Montchenots are any indication). If global warming doesn’t explain most of the generational increase in brawn, those responsible should be damned to the fourth circle for no longer making such subtle paeans.
