Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
On non-successive fruit nights, a quintet from the eponymous musical.
2013 Hirsch Vineyards San Andreas Fault Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 13.1%
Lovely aroma, mixing distinct pinot cola notes with a smoky, charcoal background. Juicy and sappy, with fine balance and weight. Over time, the smokiness began to stick out a bit too much and bothered me.
2013 Lioco Saveria Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir 12.3%
Gorgeous aroma mixing strawberry and potpourri. Smells somewhat carbonic, so perhaps the 50% whole cluster (per back label) wasn’t immediately crushed. Mouth feels ethereal, yet somehow bold, with ideal balance and weight. No sign of its 20% new oak, except perhaps in the relatively smooth texture. Ends a tad bitter before food, becoming perfectly satisfying after. At cruising altitude, hard to imagine a more pleasing young pinot from absolutely anywhere in the world.
Speaking of back label, the wealth of disclosure deserves retyping:
PH Balance 3.71 Total Acidity 5.5 g/l Residual Sugar 0.2 g/l Brix 21o
Vinification: 4.4 tons of remarkably clean fruit was hand-harvested and (barely) sorted on Sept. 10. All clones co-fermented (50% whole cluster) in a 5-ton fermenter using wild yeasts. A 5-day cold soak preceded regular cap management for balanced extraction during a 12-day fermentation. Aged for 10 months in 20% new oak. Bottled without fining or filtration.
Site: a hidden vineyard near the town of Aptos, a mere 4.5 miles from the Pacific. Pinot clones 115, 667, and 777 planted in the late 1990s. Soil is a deep colluvial fan of sand and calcareous marine deposits with excellent drainage. Exchange of fog/sun ensures proper vine respiration and very even ripening. Maritime climate necessitates extended hang times. Farmed by Prudy Foxx, aka "the Vine Whisperer."
That said, not a word about SO2. Perhaps telling, because when I was thinking about which wineries to visit in July of last year, a knowledgeable local said "if natural winemaking practices are important, I'd skip Ceritas and LIOCO. They ain't natural, but I'll say, the wines are pretty damned good. And John, their winemaker, is a good guy. Technical wines, but better than most in CA, if you're okay with acidulated, micro-oxygenated (etc.) wines. In his case, I'm quite alright with it. He makes up for what our terroir lacks, which I guess is terroir?"
2013 Arnot-Roberts Peter Martin Ray Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir 12.5%
Six barrels. High expectations. Elegant (as in quite present, yet reserved) strawberry and forest floor. Sappy and juicy, also pleasantly spicy, but with a lactic note, and an overt smoothness that seemed mildly sycophantic. Don’t know if it’s a surfeit of malic acid, or grooming from however much new wood. But something lacto-velvety made it less satisfying than the Lioco.
2011 Porter-Bass Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 13.1%
Exotic aroma, patchouli and roses. Tasty and balanced, but finishes short, compromising the sense of body/weight. Smoky toast note. Improves with food to the point of satisfaction, but the toasty quasi-caramel gives it a sheen I don’t care for. Seemed like the very fine fruit was still being compromised by the oak treatment, even though relatively judicious.
2013 Gros Ventre Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 14.1%
I don’t usually spring for pinots with high abvs, but what the hell. Roasted beet, meaty and cola aromas. More sweet than acid, and very cola-like, like a fizzled soft drink with a shot of alcohol. By far the least likeable of the five, and one more data point against high abv pinots, even from otherwise promising Sonoma Coast (i.e., ditch the Colt 45s and stick to the Derringers).
2013 Hirsch Vineyards San Andreas Fault Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 13.1%
Lovely aroma, mixing distinct pinot cola notes with a smoky, charcoal background. Juicy and sappy, with fine balance and weight. Over time, the smokiness began to stick out a bit too much and bothered me.
2013 Lioco Saveria Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir 12.3%
Gorgeous aroma mixing strawberry and potpourri. Smells somewhat carbonic, so perhaps the 50% whole cluster (per back label) wasn’t immediately crushed. Mouth feels ethereal, yet somehow bold, with ideal balance and weight. No sign of its 20% new oak, except perhaps in the relatively smooth texture. Ends a tad bitter before food, becoming perfectly satisfying after. At cruising altitude, hard to imagine a more pleasing young pinot from absolutely anywhere in the world.
Speaking of back label, the wealth of disclosure deserves retyping:
PH Balance 3.71 Total Acidity 5.5 g/l Residual Sugar 0.2 g/l Brix 21o
Vinification: 4.4 tons of remarkably clean fruit was hand-harvested and (barely) sorted on Sept. 10. All clones co-fermented (50% whole cluster) in a 5-ton fermenter using wild yeasts. A 5-day cold soak preceded regular cap management for balanced extraction during a 12-day fermentation. Aged for 10 months in 20% new oak. Bottled without fining or filtration.
Site: a hidden vineyard near the town of Aptos, a mere 4.5 miles from the Pacific. Pinot clones 115, 667, and 777 planted in the late 1990s. Soil is a deep colluvial fan of sand and calcareous marine deposits with excellent drainage. Exchange of fog/sun ensures proper vine respiration and very even ripening. Maritime climate necessitates extended hang times. Farmed by Prudy Foxx, aka "the Vine Whisperer."
That said, not a word about SO2. Perhaps telling, because when I was thinking about which wineries to visit in July of last year, a knowledgeable local said "if natural winemaking practices are important, I'd skip Ceritas and LIOCO. They ain't natural, but I'll say, the wines are pretty damned good. And John, their winemaker, is a good guy. Technical wines, but better than most in CA, if you're okay with acidulated, micro-oxygenated (etc.) wines. In his case, I'm quite alright with it. He makes up for what our terroir lacks, which I guess is terroir?"
2013 Arnot-Roberts Peter Martin Ray Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir 12.5%
Six barrels. High expectations. Elegant (as in quite present, yet reserved) strawberry and forest floor. Sappy and juicy, also pleasantly spicy, but with a lactic note, and an overt smoothness that seemed mildly sycophantic. Don’t know if it’s a surfeit of malic acid, or grooming from however much new wood. But something lacto-velvety made it less satisfying than the Lioco.
2011 Porter-Bass Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 13.1%
Exotic aroma, patchouli and roses. Tasty and balanced, but finishes short, compromising the sense of body/weight. Smoky toast note. Improves with food to the point of satisfaction, but the toasty quasi-caramel gives it a sheen I don’t care for. Seemed like the very fine fruit was still being compromised by the oak treatment, even though relatively judicious.
2013 Gros Ventre Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 14.1%
I don’t usually spring for pinots with high abvs, but what the hell. Roasted beet, meaty and cola aromas. More sweet than acid, and very cola-like, like a fizzled soft drink with a shot of alcohol. By far the least likeable of the five, and one more data point against high abv pinots, even from otherwise promising Sonoma Coast (i.e., ditch the Colt 45s and stick to the Derringers).
