Team Dinner and Go-to CasalFerro Wines at Italian Village Chicago

Team Dinner and Go-to CasalFerro Wines at Italian Village Chicago

With my tech leadership team in town for a week closing out the year, and final planning for the year ahead and the next chapter in our strategic plan, we dined at our usual go-to eatery and enjoyed some of our favored go-to wines with dinner. 

Tonight was a repeat of several earlier such team dinners we've had at Italian Village.  I last wrote about this wine in a blogpost, Team dinner at Italian Village Chicago in November last year.

Team working dinner at Italian Village Chicago features Super Tuscan and Bolgheri Chianti Classico

I wrote then about my 'SPO' - Strategy, Products and Operations leadership team continues their planning sessions in the Chicago home office and gathered for another working dinner at nearby  Italian Village, Chicago. 

 

I've written in previous blogposts about our wine and dinners, about Italian Village, Chicago's oldest, longest running continuously family operated Italian restaurant in Chicago. 

 

As is our custom, tonight, we dined in one of the private tables/rooms in the Village, one of the three restaurants on the premises, a perfect setting for an intimate or business dinner.
 

Part of this ritual is hooking up with friend and wine-buddy IV Wine Director and buddy Jared Gelband and Gerry Castillo, IV Vivere restaurant 'floor manager', who has become our 'designated' server when we come in, all shown together below. 

 

From producer dinner, wine buddy Dr Dan,
Gerry, me and Jared.

With dinner, tonight I selected these two wines from the winelist, from the same producer, Baron Ricasoli, composed of the same varietal and vineyard sources.
 
This is a label I know well and have collected over the years, one of the small selection of Italians in my cellar collection, which tends to be French and American.

When I picked these two wines from the extensive, vast Italian Village winelist, I didn't realize we've enjoyed each of them before, but never together in a mini-vertical comparison tasting. I don't think I had realized the 'vertical' aspects of the two labels, being the varietal from the common  estate sources.

Jared shared with us how he visited the Baron Ricasoli estate and staying in the magnificent Brolio Castle located within the town of Gaiole during his last wine country producer tour, He talked about meeting the proprietors who represented the 32nd generation of the family to manage the estate, and and explained how the similarity between the two labels and how they used to blend Merlot in this earlier release. 

The 2000 vintage release was classic Chianti Classico native Sangiovese accented with a bit of Merlot, which has since been dropped in later releases to focus on and showcase the estate Merlot, as in the other label below.

Barone Ricasoli Casalferro (Sangiovese) Toscana IGT 2000

We also had this label back in the early 2020 which I featured in a blogpost Ricasoli CasalFerro & Livio Fellugo Saso, at the time.  

 

This 2000 vintage release is a blend of 75% Sangiovese and 25% Merlot. It was aged in small french oak barrels for 18 months which along with the Merlot in the blend, softens the tannins. 

 

The grapes were sourced from estate vineyards set 350 – 400 meters above sea level, mainly from the vineyard of the same name with southwest exposure, with a predominance of calcareous sandstone and Alberese stone.

Today production of this label is 135,000 bottles in a prodigious vintage year.

Wine Spectator awarded this vintage release 90 points.

At twenty-one years, this was starting to show its age and is reaching the end of its drinking window. The fill level, foil and cork (shown left) were ideal for the age. 

While past its prime, this wine was an ideal pairing with our entree selections, my Butternut Squash with Fig puree and mushrooms, the Filet of Beef, and the Lamb Chops, a new Italian Village Chef Jose Specialty.

While this was initially a bit funky with some barnyard earthiness which burned off after decanting and aerating back and forth three times, it was better than our previous tasting, due likely to bottle variation over two decades of aging. 

This was dark garnet colored with a bit of browning on the rim, medium full bodied, powerful full and forward black fruits are starting to give way to notes of cedar, black tea, olive tapenade, leather and hints of creosote on the deep, full, lingering tannic finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=17527

https://www.ricasoli.com/en/product/casalferro-2000/ 

@ricasoli_1141

We lasted tasted this other wine during a similar team dinner back in the fall of last year when I wrote about Italian Village Wine & Dine Chicago.

Tonight, members of our group selected for our entrees the beefsteak, the lamb chops, and I chose the butternut squash with fig puree and mushrooms - all perfectly complemented by the combination of these two wines.  

Baron Ricasoli Cassalferro Castello di Brolio 2015

Ricasoli is the most representative wine producer in the Chianti Classico area Italian wine region. The estate covers the 1,200 hectares of property include almost 240 hectares of vineyards and 26 of olive groves covering rolling hills and picturesque valleys with thick woodlands of oaks and chestnuts.

Since taking over in 1993, Baron Francesco Ricasoli has been guiding this central Tuscan company according to the principles of his renowned ancestors, producing wines that showcase the distinctive terroir of the soil types, the climate and clonal selections of the Brolio Sangiovese. He has also totally renovated and completely mapped the vineyards.

This label, Casalferro,  was  first  produced  in  1993  when  Francesco  Ricasoli  became  president  of  the company. This is 100% Merlot produced only during the best years. Casalferro is sourced from the vineyard  of  the  same  name  located  at  400  meters  above  sea  level  and  facing  south.  

The  brown  clay  loam  soil  with  little  organic  content  contributes  to  the  exclusive  personality  of  this  great Chianti Merlot.

This release was awarded 95 points by James Suckling, 93 points by Wine Spectator, and 92 points by Robert Parker Wine Advocate.  

Bright Ruby colored, medium bodied, expressive black berry and black cherry fruits with tones of leather, anise licorice and dark cocoa and herbs, medium plus acidity and medium plus tannins on a long finish. I agree with one review that wrote that this tastes more like a Sangiovese than a Merlot from the New World, or the Right Bank.

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2869770

https://www.ricasoli.com/en/product/casalferro-2015/

https://twitter.com/ricasoli_1141 

@ricasoli_1141

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/

https://twitter.com/italianvlg

@italianvlg

https://twitter.com/jzgwine

@jzgwine

Italian Village Wine & Dine Chicago

 Italian Village Wine & Dine Chicago

With members of my leadership team gathered in Chicago at headquarters for some important meetings, I hosted a team business dinner at Italian Village Chicago. 

IV Wine Director Jared Gelband (right) served up a duo of Italian varietal wines to showcase our dinner selections.

As is our custom, we dined in one of the private tables/rooms in the Village, one of the three restaurants on the premises, a perfect setting for an intimate or business dinner.

In an earlier blogpost about earlier wine and dinners, I wrote about Italian Village, Chicago's oldest, longest running continuously family operated Italian restaurant in Chicago. 

Tonight, several of our group selected the beefsteak entrees so Jared served a couple Bordeaux varietal wines from the extensive Italian Village wine cellar and wine list, as ideal complement pairings with our dinners. 

Baron Ricasoli Cassalferro Chianti Classico

Ricasoli is the most representative wine producer in the Chianti Classico area Italian wine region. The estate covers the 1,200 hectares of property include almost 240 hectares of vineyards and 26 of olive groves covering rolling hills and picturesque valleys with thick woodlands of oaks and chestnuts.

The estate and its Brolio Castle are located within the town limits of Gaiole in Chianti. 

 

Since taking over in 1993, Baron Francesco Ricasoli has been guiding this central Tuscan company according to the principles of his renowned ancestors, producing wines that showcase the distinctive terroir of the soil types, the climate and clonal selections of the Brolio Sangiovese. He has also totally renovated and completely mapped the vineyards.

The history of the estate and the Brolio Castle has been linked to the Ricasoli family and wine back to 1141. In the family tree is reproduced a print from 1584, one of the first images of the Chianti area as a wine producing region.

 

Estate documents report exports to Amsterdam and England back as early as the late 1600s. Since the early 1900s, the wines from Brolio have gained recognition and appreciation as they have been  exported the world over, from China to Saudi Arabia, from South Africa to the Americas. 

In 1872 Baron Bettino Ricasoli (1809 – 1880), visionary wine entrepreneur, originated the formula for Chianti wine, now called Chianti Classico and the family has worked to refine and expand the brand ever since.

Today, Ricasoli produce a portfolio of a dozen labels  of premium wines, some only in prime years, several labels of Grappa, and a line of Olive Oils, sourced and crafted from the the Broglio Chianti Classico estate. 

Barone Ricasoli Casalferro 2015 from Tuscany, Italy

This label, Casalferro,  was  first  produced  in  1993  when  Francesco  Ricasoli  became  president  of  the company. This is 100% Merlot produced only during the best years. Casalferro is sourced from the
vineyard  of  the  same  name  located  at  400  meters  above  sea  level  and  facing  south.  The  
brown  clay  loam  soil  with  little  organic  content  contributes  to  the  exclusive  personality  of  this  
great Chianti Merlot.

This release was awarded 95 points by James Suckling, 93 points by Wine Spectator, and 92 points by Robert Parker Wine Advocate.  

Bright Ruby colored, medium bodied, black berry and black cherry fruits with tones of leather, anise licorice and dark cocoa and herbs, medium plus acidity and medium plus tannins on a long finish. One review wrote that this tastes more like a Sangiovese than a Merlot from the New World, or the Right Bank.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2869770

https://www.ricasoli.com/en/product/casalferro-2015/

https://twitter.com/ricasoli_1141 

@ricasoli_1141

 

 Gaja Ca'Marcanda 2003

This is from the legendary Italian producer, Angelo Gaja, whom are most notably known for their Barbaresco wines and some Bordeaux varietals under the ultra-premium Gaja brand. 

I had the privilege of meeting the patriarch Angelo Gaja and tasting the complete line-up of flagship labels at a tasting in Chicago hosted by Binny's and Paterno Imports back in 2004. This also included a horizontal flight of the flagship Gaja Barbaresco - 1978, 1989, 1999, and 2000 vintages.

This premium label is from their other branding in their broad portfolio.

At eighteen years, this is likely at the apex of its drinking profile and not likely to improve further with more aging. 

 This release was awarded 92 points by Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: 

This is a blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Ssauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc.

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, complex but elegant and nicely integrated black berry, black cherry and plum fruits with notes of exotic spices and soy, hints of mocha, leather and tobacco leaf with plush tannins and nicely balanced tannins on the long lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=270115

 

 

Ricasoli CasalFerro & Livio Fellugo Saso

Ricasoli CasalFerro and Livio Fellugo Sossó at Italian Village Chicago

For a special business dinner with staff and a business partner we dined at my usual venue for such occasions - Italian Village, Chicago. I've written often in these pages about our dinners and meetings at IV, the oldest and longest continuing operating Italian restaurant in Chicago.

I selected from the wine list this Tuscan Sangiovese based blend, an old and reliable favorite, Casalferro from Baron Ricasoli. Our friend and wine colleague Jared Gelband, Wine Director, pulled from the vast IV cellar this 2000 vintage release bottle.

Barone Ricasoli Casalferro (Sangiovese) Toscana IGT 2000

Barone Ricasoli is one of Chianti’s largest estates, with nearly 650 acres of vineyards in Gaiole in Chianti, in the southern part of the Tuscany’s Chianti appellation. The estate has been in the hands of Ricasoli family for more than 500 years. The winery today is run by Francesco Ricasoli and other family members, and it calls itself the oldest commercial winery in Italy.

Tuscany, or Toscana in Italian, is Italy’s best-known wine region and its most diverse. Historically Sangiovese was the primary grape grown in Tuscany and Chianti was considered the purest expression of Sangiovese. Sangiovese and its many clones are still important, and they are the grapes used for the Tuscan appellations of Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano, Chianti, Chianti Classico and Carmignano.

This release was a blend of Sangiovese 75% and Merlot 25%. It is aged in small french oak barrels for 18 months which along with the Merlot in the blend, softens the tannins.
Wine Spectator awarded this vintage release 90 points.

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, powerful full and forward black fruits are accented by a layer of oak with notes of cedar, tea, leather and hints creosote on the deep, full lingering tannic finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=17527

@ricasoli_1141

Livio Felluga Sossó Fruili 2012

This is a blend of three different grapes - two uniquely from the Fruili region, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso and Pignolo, and a Bordeaux varietal  - Merlot.  Friuli took on French varieties after phylloxera devastated most of their native grapes, and this wine is a testament to that history, with two indigenous varieties blended with Merlot.

Created in 1989, this wine is named after the Sossó stream, which runs at the foot of the hill where the grapes grow. Made with carefully selected and oldest vines of Merlot and Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso grapes, together with a small percentage of Pignolo, from Rosazzo. Sossò is the result of skilful vinification and barrique maturation that lasts for 18 months. A supremely complex and well-structured wine, it stands out for its elegant, ripe, sweet, fruity tannins.


Winemaker notes: The Refosco brings the soft, peppery notes and earth tones while the Pignolo hefts up the wine with blackberry fruit and a tannic backbone allowing the Merlot to shine with soft juicy blueberry notes mingling with a hint of oak and vanilla. This is an amazingly structured wine from the banks of the Sosso river in Collio. 

Winemaker's Notes: Dark blackish ruby colored, medium full bodied, complex red currant and black fruits accented by floral lily blossoms, cedar wood, with notes of spice, almond, rosemary, undergrowth, short crust pastry and pomegranate, elegant, pleasant and well-balanced tannins; aftertaste has notes of red berries, vanilla pod, and elder berries.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2518622


http://www.liviofelluga.it