Masi Osar 2005

I mentioned that I had tasted another of the Cantina Privata Boscaini wines when I blogged about the Mazzano Amarone last week. That was the Osar 2005 which I tasted in a PWC dinner in 2012 featuring unusual Italian grapes. Osar is made from 100% Oseleta, a rare indigenous red grape in Veneto related to Corvina and Rondinella which nearly went extinct. It was low yielding and thus fell out of favour at a time when the phylloxera blight was devastating vineyards all over Europe. Recent interest in indigenous grapes helped in its renaissance.

As for the wine, it was a deep ruby with a sweet fruity nose. The soft fruity palate had hints of dilution, but the mouth watering acidity which emerged mid-palate rendered good support with an astringent dose of drying tannins bringing up the rear as its finish.