I recently had the opportunity to try this years vintage of the Vino Bianco from the Italian producer Le Coste. I had heard many positive things about their wines, both from personal acquaintances and in reading online. However, I have to say that I was overall unimpressed, especially due to the fact that the wine had an overwhelming smell of acetone/nail polish remover. I don’t mind some strong acidity here and there, but this was beyond any experience that I had in the past.
What I’m wondering is if this is characteristic of their wines in general? I would be interested to hear about other peoples’ experiences with their offerings, and if my experience was the result of bottle variation or something. I would personally say that I would not be tempted to purchase something from them again in the future (especially at the same price point) but I would be happy to be convinced otherwise.
Le Coste is my favorite Italian natural wine producer. Across the board their wines are above average to excellent. However, this year’s Bianco was not my favorite either. Agreed that it was a bit hot and didn’t blow off as it usually does. I would absolutely suggest you try some of the other Bianco vintages (18 was a good yr) and their varying varietals.
The acidity is high in their wines due to the volcanic terroir on Lake Bolsena where their vines grow. Similar to the acidity you’ll find in wines from Mt. Etna in Sicily. While also capturing that salinity that I love in wine.
If you can get your hands on the Rosato, Pizzicante, Rosso R, Bianco R, Alea VV, Paino or Due M you’ll be in heaven. Beautiful expressions and imo some of the best natural wines period.
Some more affordable options that are great summer drinkers are the Litrozzo or Ripazzo. They produce a lot of different products but just in smaller quantities. Depends on what they make each year. Have fun exploring. Don’t give up after 1 bottle that didn’t hit a home run for you.
Le coste Le Primeur 2018 is still to this day one of my best drinks, they have some really special wines. Also opened their 2020 Bianchetto last week and it drank beautifully, very worth the price!
I’ve been a fan of the rose but with these kinds of wine there can be huge variations between vintages due to the natural process used to produce them. In my experience, the “little” white (bianchetto I think) has been better than the more expensive one, but it was several years ago at this point