There's a joyfulness to this wine that's hard to resist. Bossa Nova is pure Carignan, drawn from three distinct plots across Calce — each facing a different direction, each bringing something different to the blend — and unified across two vintages to add depth and complexity. The result is anything but one-dimensional.
Deep and velvety on the palate, with silky tannins, it opens with dark blackberry fruit meeting sweet tobacco, black pepper and warming spice. It's light on its feet for all that richness — generous and sensual, but never heavy.
This is Carignan as it should be made: farmed organically on grey and brown schist soils, fermented in concrete vats and aged partially on full lees in barrel for six months, with minimal intervention throughout. Wilfried Vallat lets the grape and the ground do the talking — and here, they're in fine voice.
Open it up, give it five minutes in the glass, and let it find its rhythm.