Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
And now for something completely different, but still cab franc. One of my favorite wines from last year's Loire jaunt was this unusual cuvée (Kezako is Languedoc slang for "qu'est-ce que c'ést") from Sebastien David, made semi-carbonically in barrel. I had never heard of this procedure, let alone seen it with these selfsame two eyes, but Sebastien said that this is how they did it in his father's time. A wire mesh is used, like a sieve, to select destemmed grapes of the desired size, and they are left to macerate entirely in the barrel. Must be a mess to clean. Stateside cool hunters have yet to pick up on this cocktail conversation starter, but it’s available to the world-weary at Caves Augé.
For all the talk of carbonic calling attention to itself as a method, trumping terroir and grape (at least during the initial years), this seemed quite different from the Chauvet tradition. Delicate but intoxicating aromas, for which we came up with a barrelful of descriptors: violets, blackberries, lard, meat, animal, beets, iodine, leather, green stems A salty dog, even briny, with tangy fruit and lively acidity. Found it fascinating, though less sheerly delicious than yesterday’s Lenoir. Yet Marcia preferred this, in a display of marital discord.
For all the talk of carbonic calling attention to itself as a method, trumping terroir and grape (at least during the initial years), this seemed quite different from the Chauvet tradition. Delicate but intoxicating aromas, for which we came up with a barrelful of descriptors: violets, blackberries, lard, meat, animal, beets, iodine, leather, green stems A salty dog, even briny, with tangy fruit and lively acidity. Found it fascinating, though less sheerly delicious than yesterday’s Lenoir. Yet Marcia preferred this, in a display of marital discord.