Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
John Rankin put together a nice little tasting yesterday at Chambers featuring the Loire's "other" grapes.
2008 Cazin Cour-Cheverny (Romorantin)
Ripe grapefruit aromas, searing acidity, the zingy essence of fermented grapefruit. Love this stuff. The oyster is its world.
2010 Saumon VdP (Menu Pineau)
Franz Saumon is one of the darlings of Le Rouge et le Blanc and this shows why. Fresh citrus and white flowers, lovely fruit, nice mouth weight, bracing acidity but totally balanced. Another one for the menu.
2009 Robinot Les Vignes de l'Ange Vin Le Regard du Loir (Pineau d'Aunis)
This bottling with 10 mg of SO2 to ward against refermentation. Very alive nose, exotic mix of forest floor and green peppers. Excellent balance, vibrant fruit, good example of intensity without extraction. A wine full of personality, but not for the faint of heart.
2010 Pepière Côt La Pepie VdPdVdL
Dishrag and cherry licorice. Lactic note. Not my stylus.
2009 Maisons Brulées l'Erebe VdT (Côt/Cabernet Franc)
I am biased towards anything made by Michel and Béatrice Augé, a lovely couple who keep an undeservedly low profile just a stone’s throw from CRB. Exotic forest floor nose, another one with lots of character, but I liked this less than the Robinot because of mild heat sting (strange from 12.5%), and residual yeast flavor. I want to like everything these guys make, so I’ll just say this needs time to settle down.
2007 Pinon Brut Rosé (Côt/Grolleau)
From the small acreage of red varieties planted by François’s father comes this unassuming bubbly, made mostly for the winery workers, and made available to the New York bourgeoisie by the tirelessly far-seeking purveyors at CSW. Not very aromatic, but has an attractive mouth feel, nice fruit, and a mild degree of sweetness that should work well in pre-prandial settings.
2008 Cazin Cour-Cheverny (Romorantin)
Ripe grapefruit aromas, searing acidity, the zingy essence of fermented grapefruit. Love this stuff. The oyster is its world.
2010 Saumon VdP (Menu Pineau)
Franz Saumon is one of the darlings of Le Rouge et le Blanc and this shows why. Fresh citrus and white flowers, lovely fruit, nice mouth weight, bracing acidity but totally balanced. Another one for the menu.
2009 Robinot Les Vignes de l'Ange Vin Le Regard du Loir (Pineau d'Aunis)
This bottling with 10 mg of SO2 to ward against refermentation. Very alive nose, exotic mix of forest floor and green peppers. Excellent balance, vibrant fruit, good example of intensity without extraction. A wine full of personality, but not for the faint of heart.
2010 Pepière Côt La Pepie VdPdVdL
Dishrag and cherry licorice. Lactic note. Not my stylus.
2009 Maisons Brulées l'Erebe VdT (Côt/Cabernet Franc)
I am biased towards anything made by Michel and Béatrice Augé, a lovely couple who keep an undeservedly low profile just a stone’s throw from CRB. Exotic forest floor nose, another one with lots of character, but I liked this less than the Robinot because of mild heat sting (strange from 12.5%), and residual yeast flavor. I want to like everything these guys make, so I’ll just say this needs time to settle down.
2007 Pinon Brut Rosé (Côt/Grolleau)
From the small acreage of red varieties planted by François’s father comes this unassuming bubbly, made mostly for the winery workers, and made available to the New York bourgeoisie by the tirelessly far-seeking purveyors at CSW. Not very aromatic, but has an attractive mouth feel, nice fruit, and a mild degree of sweetness that should work well in pre-prandial settings.