Tuscan evening...

Back in March a customer of a colleague wanted to do a celebratory Tuscan dinner and I was roped in to help given my penchant for all things Italian. It was a cracking line up for dinner but first we had a vertical of Andrea Franchetti's Tenuta di Trinoro from Magnum. Having done a few verticals before this was an exciting prospect.

Whilst everyone gathered we started the evening with a glass of Guilio Ferrari Riserva Franciacorta 2002, I know Ferrari pretty well from Zucca days of old, this 2002 had spent 10 years on the lees and is from 100% Chardonnay having been first made in 1972. A good good fizz with character and a nutty freshness.

Then it was time to start the evening proper, to have Andrea there to lead the tasting made it all the more special. Andrea gave an overview back to the start of the estate even before the first vintage which was 1997.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2009 Magnum - This has sublime completeness, rounded ripe tannins and delicious decadent yet fresh fruits, it is a wine to drink now or in 20 years time. It comes across, and this is easy for someone who has never made wine to say, as a wine that probably made itself. Long lasting red and black fruits, no signs of oak just ripe aromas.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2007 Magnum - Andrea commented how this was a vintage characterised by a low water table and a lack of water in the season itself. The vintage, fortunately, was not excessively hot in itself. There is a more secondary nature to this wine, a little less obvious juicy fruit and a more leathery, tobacco and savoury element. It is more degraded and more animalistic, there is a spiciness too.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2003 Magnum - The 2003 is seductive and in many ways has the opposite challenges of the 2007, very hot but not without a decent reserve of water from the wet 2002 vintage. I like this wine, there is a feel of smaller more concentrated berries but not a lack of freshness. Impressive.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2000 Magnum - "So complete" is how my not starts here, at 15 years of age this is in a lovely place, neither vibrantly young nor decaying, it just begs to be drunk. Mellow soft fruit, not bruised but easy to appreciate. Some of the character of the 2009 but with the lighting dimmed down. A wine you don't really need food with...just wallow in it.

We then made our way down for dinner and a lovely classcial Tuscan inspired menu.

Mushroom Ravioli with Truffle Sauce

Fillet of Beef with Chianti Sauce, Rosemary Potatoes, Grilled Vegetables

Tiramisu

Pecorino

The wine line up was rather monumental with a great spread of wines and vintages:

Tignanello 1988 - Sangiovese based wine with a little bit of both Cabernets. 1988 is cracking all round vintage in Tuscany, often better than the famed 1985 (which owes much to the Sasscaia 1985). This was a lovely easy mellow wine at its peak, probably has been for a while.

Brunello Case Basse, Soldera 1985 - I have a rather massive vertical of Soldera to write up and regular readers will know I love these wines and visit regularly so I will not dwell too long here. Tar and degraded sweet fruit, lovely.

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Biondi-Santi 1990 - An iconic winery in Brunello if not seen as the dominant producer that Soldera is. This is fully mature with a lovely decayed sweetness and a good acidity with a saline aspect too.

Solaia 1982 - I learnt most of what I know about this from a vertical organised five years ago by "Sussex". This had a marked mintiness, not in bad way, it is just the Cabernet Sauvignon really showing through. This is a very early Solaia as the wine was first made in 1978. There was then a 1979 but no Solaia in '80, '81, '83 and '84. An easy and quite gentle wine.

Sassicaia 1988 - In so many ways the standard bearer for the Super Tuscans. The 1988 is a superb wine, iron and dark fruit with good body but also a completeness. I love the balance of this.

Masseto 1998 - from the most Iconic of the Cabernet Sauvignon Super Tuscans in Sassicaia we move to the Merlot one in Masseto. This wine has been around even less time than Solaia with the first wine made on 1986 but the first commercially released vintage was 1987. The 1998 is a wine I know well but before this I had not had it for 3 or 4 years. It retains a real vibrancy and densely fruited nature. A wine probably only now really getting into the drinking window. Delicious.

Tenuta di Trinoro 2011 Magnum - This is a bold vintage of Andrea's wine and shows such extreme ripeness that even Andrea at times wonders if it is too much. There is a slight toning down of the richness from the 2012. I love the decadence of this and it works well at the end of the meal.

Ornus dell'Ornellia 2009 Halves - Thomas Duroux, the former winemaker, now at Palmer, planted this plot of Petit Manseng in 2003. This is a late harvest desert wine, that is a tricky wine to describe the fruit character I'd pick out most is dried Apricot possibly with a little honey.

What a great evening... 

Mushroom Ravioli with Truffle Sauce 

Fillet of Beef with Chianti Sauce, Rosemary Potatoes, Grilled Vegetables

Tiramisu

Pecorino

Tuscan 2004's...

This was a dinner organised with the same lovely bunch as attended a Barolo 2004 dinner at Zucca back in July. It seemed logical to follow the Barolos with Tuscans. We all gathered at The Quality Chop House and each with the instruction to bring a bottle of our choosing. We were very well looked after through the evening with a menu as shown below. The food was all simple, delicious and complemented the wines well. I think I'll take my son, Charlie, there soon - just his sort of place!

The organiser - Mr Gossip on this occasion - gets to bring the aperitif. We kicked off with 2011 Batar from Querciabella. This is a wine I have definitely had, and enjoyed, before though I can find no reference of it on this blog at all which is odd. This was quite rich but also very savoury and dry when cold, it really opened out with time and actually I think I preferred it when it was almost at room temperature. It will certainly repay 3-4 more years cellaring and beyond. The blend is a fairly "different" one being 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Blanc. It was a nice opener and deserved the 93 its it gets from Galloni. This brings me onto one odd thing about the evening, more than half the wines get 93pts and that made it an interesting tasting as you can analyse that taster as well as the wines. I am not a big one for scores but it was an interesting aside.

We were now ready to start the 2004's. A little look at the vintage suggests it was the opposite of the extremes of 2003. There was a fair bit of work to do in the vineyards and green harvesting seems to have been repaid but all in all it was not a vintage of extremes, balance is always good so hopefully that would show in the wines.

The wines were served in pairs and with the traditional varietals first. I have scored them out of twenty for my own benefit as much as anything.

2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Il Poggione - This had been double decanted a couple of hours before dinner and is from a producer I really like (the 2006 is a little gem if you see it). The nose was initially quite volatile, it actually seemed to tighten up in the glass. It was a little grainy and savoury reminding me of ash and meat. There was just enough sweetness to pull it together. Either this will repay cellaring or it just lacks a little something. 16.5

2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Lisini - Nicely complete nose with a little gloss, then with time in the glass a little more meaty and savoury. This tastes young and has quite a bit of texture about it. 17

2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Salvioni - Saline, which for me the best Italian wines (Piedmont or Tuscany) must have. This was excitingly good. Richness, fresh greenness by which I mean "good zip", lots of life and good sweetness. Very very moreish acidity, classy, very fine. 18.5

2004 Brunello di Montalcino Rennina, Pieve Santa Restituta from Gaja - had the unfortunate job of following the Salvioni. This was good, grainy and grippy with a very moreish texture. It tasted wonderfully Italian but, and I don't want to be obvious here, it tasted more of Gaja than of Sangiovese. There is a real signature there and had I been told it was a Piedmont wine from Gaja and say 12-15 years old I would have agreed entirely. I liked it but may be wanted a shade more definition. Nice wine. 17-17.5

2004 Camartina from Querciabella - A blend here of 50% Sangiovese, 45% Cabernet and the last 5% being from Merlot/Syrah. The wine was quite glossy and clearly needs a little time, 3-5 years, to fully integrate. It has good ripeness and will be impressive in time, it is just a touch incomplete now. 17(?)

2004 Terriccio from Castello del Terricio - The 50% Syrah here really shows, it is  masculine wine with good sweetness, it is quite lush as well and has a savoury dimension. I found it quite surprising, in a good way. 17+

The next pair was interesting as I had both wines at an Ornellaia 1990-2010 tasting before and enjoyed them.

2004 Serre Nuove - Rich and a shade doughy on the nose but then really good with quite saturated dark fruits on the palate, this was impressive and really quite serious. 17.5 (a little higher than last time).

2004 Ornellaia - I think this was probably voted wine of the night by many. I may be just though the Salvioni shaded it but that really is picking hairs. The nose remind me of crusty bread, the balance was such that writing a note was tricky (a good sign)…there was a little saline and just a feeling of easy completeness. Very good. 18-18.5

2004 Sassicaia - Sadly this was just not a good bottle, not corked but just bruised, a little volatile and prematurely degraded. No score.

2004 Messorio Macchiole - In the absence of Masseto (a little out of the wine trades price range) this was to be the 100% Merlot. There was a nose of dry balsamic notes followed by lush fruit and quite a bit of richness. Somehow I found it a little bit much. 16.5.   

2004 Tenuta di Trinoro - This was my bottle so watch out for bias. I have tasted through quite a few vintages down the years but never the 2004 as far as I can see or remember. This has almost tropical fruits and a vigorous youth with a sweet texture and very fresh but youthful appeal. I really liked it. 17.5-18.

So as a whole what did we learn? 2004 is clearly a nice vintage, there was good balance and definition, I think we felt the wines were harder to asses that the Barolos which give a little more perfume earlier in their lives and probably due to being from a thin skinned variety are a little easier to describe and assess. A successful evening for sure...

By consensus the next evening for the group is Bordeaux 2005 under a certain price point (£50 a bottle say) of release…should be interesting!

Simply wonderful evening at Zucca

It has taken me a over a week to write up what was a brilliant evening of food and wine with friends on the last friday night in August. There was a slight feel that this was the last hurrah before proper work starts with the arrival of September, we certainly enjoyed ourselves.

A staggering menu was put together Zucca's Chef/owner Sam Harris and executed on night by Simon:

Broccoli, Squid and Pepper fritti

Antipasti

Tuna involtini, Cripsy Cavolo

Cauliflower, broad beans and hazelnuts

Mozzarella, speck and figs

Beef carpaccio, beetroot

Primi

Agnolotti in brodo

Vitello lasagne

Taglierini, rabbit ragu

Secondi

Grouse, trompette and pea shoots

Formaggio

Toma, pecorino sardo and gorgonzola dolce

Dolci

Pistachio tart, raspberry ripple ice cream

I have put pictures of a few of the courses at the bottom of this entry. There is no point me even trying to pick a favourite dish, they were all genuinely great in their own way.

Moving to the Wines the co-ordination had taken place before hand. The selection was a brilliantly balance and worked superbly with the food. Just one of those occasions when things clicked.

Perle 2006 from Ferrari kicked us off, 100% Chardonnay and focussed with a little toastiness, very balanced and just right as a palate primer. The second sparkler was a perfect foil for the Perle, Henriot Cuvee des Enchanteleurs 1998 was richer more dense, more serious, not over the top but with a sturdy core. The 1988 as a Pinot vintage is a bit of a star just as 1999 is for Blanc de Blancs, this was really good, serious, a Meursault-esque Champagne.
A magnum of Riesling Unendlich 2000 from FX Pichler was up next which had a lovely oiliness and a petrolly nose but stopped short of being Kerosine-like. It went with the Tuna and crab brilliantly and added to the very good impression I have of this producer from a bottle a few blogs back, I am not good on Austria but obviously should put in some work here!
Cervaro della Sala 2010 from magnum had a very well balanced nose with savoury toastiness but enough fruit, if it had been served blind I would have been tempted to say classily Californian it was really good and certainly not too young to drink though obviously has some legs. The third dry white was Corton-Charlemagne 1987, Bonneau du Martray, we managed to get though three bottles of this, two at this stage of proceedings and then another at cheese time. It's a cracking wine that confounds the lack of faith in white Burgundy but then the problems seem to be 1996 and onwards generally. It is everything you could expect from a difficult vintage but showed very well with a nutty unctuousness balanced by mineral vibrancy. All three bottles were identical.
The first of the reds was also a Burgundy, Chambolle-Musigny 1976 from Bouchard. This had a flinty, graphite like minerality on the nose which left after a minute or two in the glass then there was just a mass of dark fruit, kirsch and headiness, it was as though it was under screw cap, somehow lost in time. The fruit might have mellowed a little but there wasn't really much development or degradation to be seen, incredibly, a difficult vintage if for the opposite reasons to 1987, the 1976 vintage was hot, very hot and dry. With this brilliant "time capsule" tasted it was time for a truly tremendous run of eight Italians. There was a general pattern of Tuscany then Piedmont but as you'll see it changed towards the end.

Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo 1997, Fontodi was very pretty, in great shape, showing more refinement than many 1997's. Tignanello 1993 in magnum was delicious, mellow, totally ready and just one of those wines you love to drink without having to think too much, in bottle format I would imagine it may be fading but not in magnum.
Sassicaia 2000 also from magnum, was really delicious, sometimes in youth Sassicaia comes across to me as almost too serious and too savoury but this has found a lovely spot, it has that trademark bell pepper and savoury bite but the structure had just eased a tad to allow the wine to soften and become seriously inviting. Clearly this has years ahead of it but is lovely now.

Nebbiolo now took over with several rarities in the mix. First up was a lovely magnum of Barolo 1988 from Bartolo Mascarello which was a joy, slightly herbal, bricky, mellowing nicely. The structure has eased a little, I had this in bottle 5 or 6 years ago and as you'd expect this is tighter and arguably a little classier...delicious.
Two bottles of Barolo Riserva Voghera Brea 2000 from Azelia followed and showed a very different style of Nebbiolo, more richness and more toffeed notes, less class but then Bartolo is hard for anyone to live with. Azelia is a producer I should learn to know better.

Barolo Villero 1982 from Giacosa was next and for any lover of Piedmont there is something about the Giacosa wines from the 80's that is simply unmissable. An incredible balance is found between extreme elegance on the one hand and a persistent almost powerful guts on the other, it really doesn't get much better and especially when you are talking about a vintage that, for the top producers, is drinking brilliantly now. A tasting note is pretty pointless here.
A quick look back into tuscany now followed with Montevertine 1999, my notes are brief here but say; lovely rich fruit. I remember thinking it was young but at a great stage. One final red was left and Barbaresco Gallina di Neive 1985, Giacosa was an incredible note on which to finish the reds, what I said above about Giacosa from the 80's followed through well, this was a joy, I wouldn't dream to trying to say which I preferred of the two Giacosa's as that would harm both. There was deep fruit, black fruit almost, cherry too and then a lovely saline grip with the structure, obviously hitting fourth gear with fifth to follow soon, incredibly good.
The final bottle was the oldest of the night but in many ways was possibly the youngest tasting in comparison to its age. Bual Madeira 1969 from Blandy was exceptional, I love Madeira, this had walnuts, dates, Christmas cake and a whole load of power, sweet brown fruit character, one glass could have lasted for ages and the value in bottles of these is that you can drink almost a "dram" a night and just have the most fascinating complexity several times over...I need to get some.

Well, there we are then, a brilliant dinner that regardless of what the autumn has to hold will be one of the dinners of the year, great food, great wine, great chat...

Vitello lasagne

Beef carpaccio, beetroot

Agnolotti in brodo

Moresco amongst many treats at Zucca

The Glorious Trio

As some of you know I am no stranger to Zucca but even by their standards this was an extraordinary display. Sam Harris, chef/owner, was sat with us, he doesn't miss these sorts of evenings and there is a reason for this! The wines had all been organised by Eric with all the guests bringing a bottle. To kick off it had to be Ca’del Bosco Franciacorta, Cuvee Prestige, as glorious as ever, I love this stuff, never pretentious but appetising and balanced, flows down a treat, all three bottle that is. Once the assembled had all got their bottles out and those that needed decanting were resting we all sat down for the bread - Focaccia, Grissini and Cripsy Pasta. The later was a new one on me, linguine with lots of salt and crisped up, very moreish.

The first of four starters - a very elegant Sea Trout with fennel - was served up with a wine that was new to me Paleo 2009 from Le Macchiole a blend of 70% Sauvignon and 30% Chardonnay, it had a nose that I thought was a little like a dry white Bordeaux from one of the Sauternes houses but an extra layer of texture from the Chardonnay. I had a few visits back to this wine during the evening and I enjoyed it more and more as it evolved, well worth trying. The next step was back to bubbles and this time a serious and decadently aged bottle in Billecart Salmon Cuvee Nicolas Francois 1990 with Tuna & Crab involtini, a cracking combo. The Billecart was at a lovely stage, rich but still fresh enough, mature rather than old, I remember having the 1988 many years ago and this was more refined. So with half the starters done - this was not an evening for the small eater - it was time to have my contribution Meursault 1er Cru Sous Les Dos d’ane 2007 from Domaine Leflaive, in magnum, with Grilled Langoustines that had arrived from Scotland earlier in the day. This worked well. a combination of Meursault's broader structure and the leanness of 2007 went well with the gorgeous Langoustines. I am professionally biased in favour of Domaine Leflaive but this was showing really well and white Burgundy in magnum is just the job for 10 people.
The centrepiece of this dinner was 3 vintages - 1970, 1974 & 1979 - of Barbaresco Giovannini Moresco. In his prime Moresco owned 28 acres in one of Piedmonts most famous vineyards, Pajore. Between 1967 and 1979 he made just five Barbaresco's, so to have 3 of them in one sitting was a great treat. The land was ultimately sold to Angelo Gaja and is now used to produce Sito Moresco which is a blend of many different varieties including Nebbiolo but in a minority, such a shame and one not to think about too much. The wines themselves: The 1970 was very elegant, fully mature with a hint of frazzles, light in colour a wine with a real balance, I think it will start to fade gracefully from here so this timing was terrific, it complimented the Beef Carpaccio, fresh Porcini superbly. The first bottle of 1974 was the wine of the night for me until the second bottle which amazingly surpassed it. It was quite simply one of those wines that had everything; elegance, depth, fruit, florality (new word I think), savoury balance, weightless but evident structure. Not the sort of wine were fruit adjectives work well or come easily. The Risotto, Borettone Onions was a good foil to it as it was a subtle and balanced dish with great texture made even better when Sam decided we needed a covering of white truffle (it's a hard life!). When the 1979 came round I just remember liking it! It was a little more savoury and masculine but I was still slightly under the spell of the 1974 in honesty.
The next two wines were from two big names in Barolo and two with a firm association with the more modern styled wines, these were both good. Barolo Granbussia Reserva 1985, Aldo Conterno was a lovely bottle with real depth, balanced but rich and masculine with a savoury yet luscious texture, it is not going to fade at all but this struck me as a great time to be drinking it, very good. Chitarra, Veal & pistachio meatballs was again a good compliment to the wine, the pasta having a great texture to it. Barolo Rocche 1996, Vietti was up next, youthful but not too young, I like the savoury density of the 1996's and this had that but was more open than I expected. The Vietti wines do impress me as they age, the quality of the fruit comes though the oak. I'd love to see their fruit made into Barolo is a more 'neutral" way.

The two mags and Paleo 2009

That signified the end of the Nebbiolo and with Venison and Wild Mushrooms to come we were onto two magnums - Rauzan Segla 1999 & Sassicaia 2001. They were not to disappoint, both good, very different but within a similar framework. I was interested to taste the Rauzan as I saw a couple of the team from Chateau Margaux recently and asked which vintage they like to show at the moment that wasn't from a "glamour" vintage and they said 1999. A colleague at another dinner the same night had the Pavilion Rouge 1999 in mag and I think you can say that the Margaux commune 1999's are pretty dam good and now. This was very Margaux, elegant, fragrant, floral with enough weight but not in any way overpowering, a wine where you feel the winemaker let it happen rather than forcing anything (always a good thing in my book). The Sassicaia was spot on, the most that I have enjoyed a "young" Sassicaia. It had it's classic ripe green bell pepper, the trademark of the wine for me. It was open and slightly loose knit which worked well. The two mags made a great pairing.
We were approaching 11.30 by now but there were still two puddings to go!! The first of which, fortunately, was very elegant and refreshing; Raspberry jelly, lemon thyme with Saracco Moscato d’asti 2011 poured over it. I had never had Saracco before, very good it was too. The second/main pudding was simply brilliant - Custard tart, pine nut brittle, vanilla ice cream and olive oil - and the Olive oil bit is not a stunt, it works a treat, the pepper and texture of the Oil making you think, but in no way is it awkward. The Vin Santo 2001, San Giusto a Rentennnano was a great wine to have with it, intense buttery sweetnmess but with a good acidity. After so much food and wine I have never seen a pudding so well enjoyed...what an evening...I'd do it all again any day!

The Risotto before it's "covering" of white truffle!