Tasted at Vinitaly: Oscar Bosio

Oscar Bosio is best known for his Moscato, and when he contacted me via Facebook, asking me to taste his wines at Vinitaly, I expected it to be a quick stop. Big mistake, because he makes more than I realized, and Maurizio Fava, who helps him sell his wines, wanted me to taste everything.

Here we go:

Oscar Bosio La Bruciata Langhe Chardonnay 2010
Lot CH 4 11
Pale brassy green with brilliant brassy reflections. The bouquet is fairly rich, with greenish accents and fairly intense minerality mingled with sea salt and some apple fruit. On the palate it's bright, and fresh, with pleasant white berry fruit supported by fairly bright citric acidity that leads into a clean fairly bright finish with pleasant minerality. Not at all overripe (which makes sense considering the vintage) and pleasant.
2 stars

This had been just bottled, so Maurizio had me try:

Oscar Bosio La Bruciata Langhe Chardonnay 2009
Lot CH 03 11
Elegant greenish brassy yellow with brilliant brassy reflections. The bouquet is elegant with rich warm white fruit, pineapple supported by sunny acidity and some greenish vegetal accents. Beautiful bouquet, and it's in part the additional time in bottle, and in part the vintage. On the palate it's full and rich, with languid honeydew melon supported by savory accents and deft loquat acidity that flow into a clean bright savory white berry fruit finish with a loquat and honeydew melon underpinning. Very fine, in an elegant, richer key.
90-92

Oscar Bosio La Bruciata Langhe Arneis 2010
Lot AR 04 11
This Arneis was Bruno Giacosa's; when dante Scaglione, who used to work with Mr. Giacosa, joined Oscar he brought the vineyard with him. The wine is pale brassy white with greenish reflections, and has a fairly intense bouquet with minerality and spice supported by heather and deft citric accents. Quite pleasant, and theminerlaity is quite refreshing. On the palate it's bright, and quite mineral with lemo9ny citric fruit supported by minerality and sea salt, and flow into a very long clean mineral finish with savory underpinning. Very nice, and will work well as either an aperitif or with fish.
90-91

Oscar Bosio Aivé Vino Bianco
Lot 2.09
This is a Vino da Tavola and therefore doesn't have an official vintage, though the 09 in the lot number does tell its age. An aivé is the opposite of a Sorì, in other words a north-facing slope, and this is a Moscato from north-facing slopes, bottled still. It's pale brassy white with brilliant brassy reflections and has a rich bouquet with classic Moscato aromas of honeysuckle, honey and white berry fruit mingled with very ripe yellow peach and honeydew melon. Very fine. The palate is full and rich, with bright slightly sweet lemony fruit supported by tangerine and honeydew melon , and by savory accents that flow into a clean bright finish with savory honeydew melon acidity that gradually settles into minerality. Quite pleasant and offers an excellent alternative to the more usual aromatic dry white wines (e.g. Sauvignon); it's well worth seeking out if you like richly aromatic whites, and will also work well with aromatic or spicy foods, including curries either Indian or Thai.
88-90

Oscar Bosio La Bruciata Moscato D'Asti 2010
Lot MO 12 11
Pale brassy yellow with brassy reflections, greenish highlights, and fine white perlage, The bouquet is rich, with honeysuckle, sugars, and some savory notes, and though this may sound one dimensional, it's remarkably harmonious. On the palate it's quite elegant, with rich honeysuckle and fleshy yellow peaches supported by peach acidity and sweetness, and flows into a long sweet finish. Great finesse on the palate, and this is because it's less sweet tan the average Moscato, and as a result is fresher and more pleasant to drink. It will work very well with creamy or dry desserts, and will also be a fine wine to sip on a summer evening.
90-91

Oscar Bosio La Bruciata Ermengildo
This is a Vendemmia Tardiva da Uva Autoctone di Langa, in other words "from late-harvested indigenous grapes;" the grapes in question are Moscato, cut and left to dry in the vineyards for an additional 3-4 weeks after the regular harvest. Due to the concentration of the grapes, fermentation times are quite long. The wine is named after Oscar's father, and is am elegant gold with brilliant gold reflections and white rim. The bouquet is quite intense, with honeysuckle and vegetal accents laced with orange and lemon blossoms, and supported by tangerine acidity. Beautiful nose. On the palate it's full, with rich, powerful sweet Muscat fruit -- It's like Moscato raisins with bitterness to balance the fruit, while there's not quite so much acidity and it flows into a clean sweet sugar-laced finish. I'd have expected a little more acidity on the palate given the nose, but minerality steps in and does so well, and it flows into a long, reather bittersweet finish. Very pleasant and will work well with flavorful cheeses, for example Stilton.
88-90

Oscar Bosio La Bruciata Il MosChin
Lot 80Q309
This is aromatized with quinine and a mixture of 42 herbs and spices; it's white with brilliant brassy reflections and some greenish highlights. The bouquet is powerful, with rich quinine and elegant spice, nutmeg, cloves and more, supported by deft sweetness that confers considerable complexity. A great lot going on. On the palate it's rich and full, with powerful quinine and other aromas supported by sweetness and greenish bitter spice that flow into a long sweet spicy finish.
91-2

Note: Maurizio says this is a progenitor of Vermouth, which was made with Moscato until the big industrial winemakers decided Moscato was too expensive to put to this use. Serve it very cold as an aperitif, or slightly warmer at the end of the meal.

We closed with a red:

Oscar Bosio La Bruciata Barbera D'Alba DOC 2008
Lot BA 03 10
Deep black almandine ruby with black reflections. The bouquet is bright with lively red berry fruit supported by sour berry fruit acidity that's just as lively, clean spice, and some greenish accents. On the palate it's light and fresh, with zesty sour cherry fruit supported by sour cherry citric acidity and by slight tannins that flow into a clean sour berry fruit finish, Classic Barbera and a wine you will set out and drink with grilled or fried mats and vegetables. A perfect summer wine.
2 stars