Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
Sans soufre from my two favorite Loire mavericks, Claude Courtois and Jean-Pierre Robinot, on successive evenings. Heavenly alcohol levels, absolutely no more than this is needed.
2007 Racines Les Cailloux du Paradis VdF 12.15%
Courtois cultivates more than 40 varieties, including Nebbiolo and Barbera, alongside more obscure frog varieties like Gascon and César. The Racines, most widely distributed of his reds, is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Côt and Cabernet Sauvignon*, hand-picked and destemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged in used wood for about 18 months. The AOC, in its benevolent wisdom, won’t even allow the vintage on the label, so it’s in the fine print. Aromas are sour cherry and cloves/forest floor, with a nice zing from the very tart acidity and a bit of a wet rags finish that subsides with food. Meaty and juicy. Not a complex wine, but does that "whole is greater than the sum of the parts" jig, and was downed with alacrity (under 30 mins, fast by our leisurely standards).
*Last year, Courtois showed us a “mystery” barrel containing an unspecified mix of very ripe grapes that are kept in 10Y wood and partially blended into the final Racines "in order for it to become impossible to copy (inimitable)."
2009 L’Opera des Vins Concerto d’Oniss LRG1 12.0%
Pineau d’Aunis, from purchased grapes from a vineyard that had only recently became organic. This stands in relation to red wine like orange wine does to white. Color is cranberry. Aromas are guava, grapefruit, pomegranate and spice. Unusual and exotic. Chewy, almost lactic. Good acidity. Intellectually intriguing, but the taste buds, those ignirant sluts, preferred the Courtois. Marcia, nevertheless, preferred this. Domestic divergence is at an all time high.
2007 Racines Les Cailloux du Paradis VdF 12.15%
Courtois cultivates more than 40 varieties, including Nebbiolo and Barbera, alongside more obscure frog varieties like Gascon and César. The Racines, most widely distributed of his reds, is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Côt and Cabernet Sauvignon*, hand-picked and destemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged in used wood for about 18 months. The AOC, in its benevolent wisdom, won’t even allow the vintage on the label, so it’s in the fine print. Aromas are sour cherry and cloves/forest floor, with a nice zing from the very tart acidity and a bit of a wet rags finish that subsides with food. Meaty and juicy. Not a complex wine, but does that "whole is greater than the sum of the parts" jig, and was downed with alacrity (under 30 mins, fast by our leisurely standards).
*Last year, Courtois showed us a “mystery” barrel containing an unspecified mix of very ripe grapes that are kept in 10Y wood and partially blended into the final Racines "in order for it to become impossible to copy (inimitable)."
2009 L’Opera des Vins Concerto d’Oniss LRG1 12.0%
Pineau d’Aunis, from purchased grapes from a vineyard that had only recently became organic. This stands in relation to red wine like orange wine does to white. Color is cranberry. Aromas are guava, grapefruit, pomegranate and spice. Unusual and exotic. Chewy, almost lactic. Good acidity. Intellectually intriguing, but the taste buds, those ignirant sluts, preferred the Courtois. Marcia, nevertheless, preferred this. Domestic divergence is at an all time high.