Chianti Classico duo at Italian Village Chicago

Chianti Classico duo at Italian Village Chicago team dinner

We welcomed two new team members to our corporate - affiliates family and took them to our regular team dinner venue for such occasions. We dined at Italian Village, Chicago at our regular table in one of their private rooms/tables. 

We ordered from the extensive Italian Village Wine List/Cellar, we ordered two classic vintage Italian Chianti's, the most well known and popular wine in Italy, and the most commonly consumed Italian wine in the world. Chianti is not the name of a grape but actually a geographic region, it is the 35 miles of hills between Florence and Siena.

The complex geography with a complex diverse geology makes for diverse challenging grape growing  with multiple exposures and soil types on the same estate. The region comprises 9 different communes (not dissimilar to Bordeaux) where each commune has a particular characteristic or 'terrior', sense of place, that shows in the wine. 

Chianti wine is made predominantly from Sangiovese, the grape must comprise at least 80% of the blend. Chianti Classico is the "classic" region, though many other nearby regions now use the name "Chianti" to make similar wines. 

The most widely planted grape in Italy, Sangiovese is a high-acid grape with moderate to high tannins, apparent earthiness and subtle fruit. Though planted all over modern Italy, the most significant wines made from Sangiovese come from Tuscany, from the regions of Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino. Sangiovese must make up 75% of a blend to be labeled Chianti DOCG - the appellation rules that control the production, content and label designation of the wines. 

Until recently, Sangiovese has struggled to find footing outside of Italy, though in recent years California wineries have expanded and improved their grape plantings in the Sierra Foothills/El Dorado County, Sonoma and Napa Counties, and the Central Coast.

Both wines were perfect accompaniments pairing with our Italian cuisine dinners. Shown are my Ravioli di Costata Corto Brasata - raviloi pasta stuffed with braised shortrib of beef with parmesan and ricotta cheese in a red demi glaise sauce (shown). Also shown the House Specialty Atlantic Salmon, prepared Puttanesca style, broiled with tomatoes, capers, olives, garlic, basil and white wine served over sauteed spinach.

After dinner we toured the legendary historic Italian Village Wine Cellar where we picked out a special dessert wine for after dinner sipping.  The Italian Village cellar, one of the largest restaurant-based wine cellars in the Midwest, holds over 35,000 bottles with a total of 1,100 selections. It has received awards every year from Wine Spectator for well over 30 years. 

Cellar Director and dear friend Jared Gelband responded to my text from earlier in the day alerting him that we'd be coming in with some special guests and would like to arrange a cellar tour. He texted that he had (literally during our dinner) just arrived in Tuscany for his regular producer estates tour. I knew he had the trip scheduled but had lost track of the dates. We managed without him never-the-less with the selections featured on this page.

Poggerino Chianti Classico Bugialla Riserva 2015

This is from producer Fattoria Poggerino,  a small, organic family run winery located in the heart of Tuscany's Chianti Classico appellation. The estate consists of 106 acres of vineyards, olive groves and woods, with a few old traditional stone houses and a 12th century church and the winery. The property used to belong to Prince Ginori Conti, a descendant of one of Florence's oldest families. 

Floriana Ginori Conti inherited the winery from her father in the 1970s, and in 1980, with her husband Fabrizio Lanza, began to produce this Chianti Classico "Poggerino" label. Her two children, Piero and Benedetta Lanza, took over management of the property in 1988 and took overall control in 1999. 

This label was designated Chianti Riserva, a rare classification given only the finest wines in the best vintages and are limited in distribution, not often even found in the U.S., except in vast deep wine cellars with broad and special selections such as at Italian Village - only 900 cases were produced with only 200 cases imported.

This release was awarded 96 points by Wine Spectator, Highly Recommended!, their highest score ever adorned on a wine from Chianti. 

Jancis Robinson gave this 17.5 Points (out of 20) and wrote, "This would be a good introduction to a doubter of Chianti Classico’s quality. There is beauty here.”

Winemaker producer Piero Lanza's notes for this release, “The vintage is one of the best along with 2010 and 1990,” says Piero Lanza. “I think the reason the 2015's came out so well is that they are from Radda. It is one of the coolest zones in Chianti Classico, and therefore the vines did not suffer from the long, hot summer we had until the end of July. Another reason, important to me, is that I was able to harvest grapes from vines that are relatively old—between 15 and 25 years—and well-balanced, the result of the work of the previous years.”

Bright ruby colored, medium full bodied, complex elegant nicely integrated and balanced concentrated red currant and black cherry fruits accented by tobacco leaf, graphite, menthol, spice and hints of licorice and tar on a booming long lingering finish. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3054691

https://poggerino-chianti-italy.com/

Our next Sangiovese ....

Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico Gran Selzione 2016

Castello di Bossi (Renieri) is one of the headline estates from the Castelnuovo Berardenga commune of Chianti Classico. Owner Marco Bacci has owned the expansive property since 1998 and has significantly increased the Gran Selezione production since the inaugural 2013 vintage - from 10,000 to 50,000 bottles.

One of the newest and strictest Italian wine laws comes in Chianti, adding to the classifications of Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Reservas is a new excellence standard bearer with the classification of Gran Selezione that represents the best of the best. Literally translating to “the greatest selection”, Gran Selezione is the newest quality designation to have been added to the DOCG classification system in Chianti Classico. Gran Selezione takes quality controls a step further than Riserva, which previously occupied the top tier. Gran Selezione labled wine has to contain at least 80% Sangiovese grapes – all estate grown, no purchased, or non-estate-grown fruit, with at least 13% alcohol content, aged for at least 30 months with 3 of those having to come in a bottle. 

Since taking over the Castello di Bossi in 1998, famous winemaker and entrepreneur Marco Bacci (Renieri), assisted by superstar consultant Alberto Antonini, has overhauled and restored the massive Castelnuovo Berardenga property back into one of the region’s best. 

Castello di Bossi's Gran Selezione is a selection of the best quality fruit grown across the Bacci family's Castelnuovo Berardenga estate in any given vintage. Whilst this wine will always contain a portion of fruit sourced from the noble Corbaia Vineyard, different areas of the estate may feature in the cuvee depending on the weather conditions and ripening observed over the course of a vintage growing season.

The 2016 release of Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico Gran Selzione is 100% Sangiovese, was awarded 97 Points by James Suckling, 94 Points by Monica Larner of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points by Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator, and 92 points by Decanter. It was aged for 24 months in 500 Liter French tonneaux, followed by 6 months in bottle.  

Similar to the Poggerino above, dark ruby colored with a slight purple hue, medium-full bodied, intense and concentrated, yet nicely balanced and integrated, dark cherry, plum and blackberry fruits with notes of black tea, clove spice, hints of cedar and cigar box with muscular, chewy dusty tannins and tangy acidity on the long expressive finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3734838

https://bacciwines.it/estates-castello-di-bossi/

 

We toured the magnificent Italian Village Wine Cellar and picked out a special dessert wine for after dinner sipping.

Maculan Torcolato Breganze Dessert Wine 2007

Since 1947 the Maculan family have been vinifying grapes in Breganze, a village at the foot of the Asiago high plains of Northeastern Italy in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. 

Founded by Giovanni Maculan, the estate was handed down to Fausto Maculan who was joined by his daughters Angel and Maria Vittoria in 2007, who to this day assist their father in managing the estate.

The Maculan estate consists of 100 acres of vines and olive trees, and they also manage the cultivation of thirty selected growers. From their sixteen different vineyards the Maculan family combine ancient traditions and state-of-the-art technology to produce a dozen labels of red, white, and dessert wines. 

The area around Breganze produce red and white wines, the red wines composed primarily of a minimum 85% Merlot with Marzemino, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rossignola and Pinot Noir.

The Breganze white wines are a minimum of 85% Friulano and can be blended with Vespaiolo, Pinot bianco, Pinot grigio, Riesling Italico, Marzemina bianca and Sauvignon blanc.

Most of these wines are produced dry, with the exception being Vespaiolo that can be produced in both a dry and sweet passito style wine. The Vespaiola grape is used to produce this dessert style wine from partially dried grapes labeled as Torcolato, one of Italy’s greatest dessert wines. 

The grapes are dried in a special room for four months to concentrate flavours and sugar and then aged for one year in french oak barriques, 1/3 new and 2/3 second usage.

This was rated 94 points by Antonio Galloni (Vinous).

From  100% Vespaiola grapes, this was dark golden, weak tea colored, medium full bodied, concentrated with thick unctuous notes of honey laced notes of vanilla, spices and floral. 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1101539

https://www.maculan.net/en/

 

Amarone Amarone

Amarone Amarone casual quaint Italian dining NYC

In NYC for team meetings, we dined at Amarone, a quaint casual neighborhood Italian restaurant on Ninth Avenue between the Hell's Kitchen restaurant district and the theatre district. 

Amarone serves traditional classic Italian dishes and offers a basic modest Italian wine centered winelist. I don't know if it's fallout from the Covid disruptions or what, but even the limited two page wine list, the number of selections actually available was limited to perhaps single digits. 

No less than five of my selections were not available, and I was offered a modest Chianti Classico table wine. That left a handful at best of remaining options, one Ultra-premium Antinori Tignanello, and this Amarone. At least this was a DOCG classified label and was moderately priced - hence the obvious choice. 

For our entrees, two ordered menu pasta selections, and two of us ordered from two daily specials, a pork chop or a veal chop. I opted for the veal chop in a cheese sauce with spinach and roasted potatoes. 

Both dishes were large generous portions in were dramatic artistic presentations, as was the caprese starter, all shown below. 

Salvalai Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG Classico 2016

This is from Salvalai, who have been been producing estate wines since 1870 from the grapes grown in the vineyards on the hills overlooking the Verona shore of historic Lake Garda. Salvalai makes wines from the popular Ripasso to the inimitable Amarone, as well as three "Classico" wines of the Verona area (Soave, Bardolino and Valpolicella) .

Salvalai was one of the first wineries in the area to successfully export its wines beyond Italy's borders in the late '60s.

Produced in the classic Valpolicella method and style, this is a blend of the classic traditional grape varieties made up of 70-75% Corvina Veronese, 20% Rondinella and 5% Rossignola e Negrara. 

The grapes are sourced from estate vineyards, the twelve acre Vejo vineyard vines exceed 20 years of age, with distinctive terroir of particular soil and climatic, excellent east-west exposure with natural ventilation provided by the cool breezes coming from the nearby Mount Baldo and a mild climate due to the beneficial influences of Lake Garda.

The twenty five acre Sole Vineyard has rich alluvial soil with great exposure of the vines, located in a narrow valley, the vineyard receives a long and consistent exposure by the sun. 

Only perfectly unblemished and dry clusters are selected for the Amarone blend, harvested 1-2 weeks earlier than those for the Valpolicella wine and subjected to the ancient grape drying practice. They are left to dry in selected well-aired locations, called “fruittai”, to avoid being attacked by mold until the end of January. 

By the end of the drying period, the grapes have lost 30-40% of their weight, and their concentration of sugar, an indispensable element during the following fermentation stage to ensure a noteworthy alcoholic level has increased. Maceration is carried out on contact with the skins for a period of 20-30 days, after drawing off the lees, the product is fermented in steel vats, then matured three years and further aged 12 months in large barrels (Slavonian oak) and 30% in small casks, barriques and tonneaux (French oak), finally, prior to the release, matured for at least 6-8 months in the bottles.

The result is intense, concentrated big round ripe fruit forward wines, an acceptable pairing for our food entrees, but a bit intense, not for the feint of heart.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, sharp intense, concentrated ripe fruits accented by raisin, smoke, notes of creosote and fig with long warm length on the finish. 

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3901523

http://www.salvalai.it/

http://www.amaroneristorantenyc.com/

Team dinner at Italian Village Chicago

Team dinner at Italian Village Chicago - new menu specials and new wine (s)

Holocene Memorialis Pinot Noir and Soffocone di Vincigliata Toscana Sangiovese

With key staffers in town for meetings and a workshop, we dined at our regular customary dinesite, Italian Village, Chicago. 

Collaborating with Wine Director, Jared Gelband, we selected a traditional Italian Tuscan Sangiovese, and for a change, a new release Oregon Pinot Noir from Pacific Northwest winemaker Todd Alexander. 

We hosted Todd Alexander and wife and partner Carrie at Italian Village during their release promotion tour visit to Chicago back in 2016, and introduced them to our friend and Wine Director, Jared Gelband. 

Jared was impressed with Todd's 'artwork' and selected several of his labels to feature on the extensive award winning winelist. 

Jared continues to carry Todd's labels on the extraordinary Italian Village winelist, which is primarily Italian, including this recent release of Todd and Carrie's new Holocene brand. 

Holocene Memorialis Pinot Noir (Yamhill-Carlton) 2018

This is the fourth vintage for this Pinot Noir project from Todd Alexander, winemaker at Force Majeure. The first vintage was 2015, released in early 2017. It's a single-vineyard cuvée (vineyard unidentified) from the MonksGate vineyard in the Yamhill Carlton AVA in the Willamette Valley Oregon. 

Todd moved to Washington from Napa Valley where he crafting wines for ultra-premium producer  Bryant Family Vineyards. Today he is winemaker for Force Majeure in Walla Walla and have recently released his own brands Paxsa and this Holocene. 

This is another project of Todd Alexander, who moved to Washington from California (he worked at Bryant Family Vineyards from 2010 to 2014 and was responsible for vinifying the 2012 and 2013 wines) to take over winemaking at Force Majeure and launched this project to make Pinot Noir from Oregon fruit.

Todd partners with a few very small, diverse and amazing vineyards in the Willamette Valley, sourcing fruit from these dry-farmed sites that emphasize low yields, sustainable practices and produce outstanding fruit. 

Says Todd, "Everyone knows that the Willamette Valley is an amazing place to grow Pinot Noir. When I relocated from Napa Valley to partner up with Force Majeure Vineyards, I knew I also wanted to start a project where I could focus attention on a varietal and growing region that I loved. Part of the excitement of being in the Pacific Northwest is the ability to have access to so many amazing vineyards and so much diversity, along with the opportunity to push boundaries and try new things."  

Todd has developed a reputation for crafting much heralded, highly regarded wines that reflect their "real sense of place" through minimal manipulation, 'utilizing very low-impact, non-industrial techniques, native yeasts, little extraction and little new oak, and never filtering or fining'. 

So, it was only fitting that when Jared received and offered from his allocation this small limited production release from Todd, we were compelled to try it with our dinner. 

Ravioli Di Costata Corta Brasata

This was a perfect complement to our ravioli stuffed with short rib dinner special, a new offering on the IV menu - Ravioli Di Costata Corta Brasata - pasta stuffed with short rib, parmesan and ricotta cheese, mirepox in a red wine demi glaze. 

Readers of this site know I am not a big Pinot drinker, opting more for Bordeaux and Rhone varietals. Never-the-less, the fun of wine is trying new labels, varietals, regions and producers. 

I loved this wine which exceeded my expectations and sets a new benchmark for me for Oregon Pinots going forward. I am a member of their club (s) and regularly take my allocation of their other labels, but immediately signed up to get on the list for this label release (which is naturally sold out) when it becomes available in the future. 

This label release was awarded 93-95 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 93 points by Wine Enthusiast and 90 points by Vinous.This is from the 2018 Oregon vintage that was a warmer than average year, sourced from a west-facing hillside of sedimentary soils located in the heart of the Willamette Valley (not far from Beaux Freres and Shea Vineyard). This is 100% Pinot Noir that was 20% destemmed and brought up in 20% French oak, 

Bright ruby colored, medium bodied, elegant and seductively textured and structured, perfectly balanced and integrated raspberry and strawberry fruits, with notes of floral, herbs, hints of sweet milk chocolate, white pepper and spice, with a silky smooth lingering finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3642047

http://holocenewines.com/

 

https://twitter.com/ForceMVineyards

 

Also check out our Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting.

Bibi Graetz Soffocone di Vincigliata Toscana IGT Sangiovese Blend 2016

For our second wine, we ordered from the winelist this Tuscan Sangiovese Blend. 

This is from well known producer Bibi Graetz, who, since his first release back in 2000, has developed a reputation as one of Italy's most ingenious winemakers. He produces a broad portfolio of wines including popular labels Testamatta and Colore which have earned him almost cult status to many Italian wine aficionados. 

Born and raised in Italy, Bibi makes his wine in his family home, Castello di Vincigliata, a medieval castle which stands on a rocky hill to the east of the village of Fiesole overlooking Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany.  

Bibi inherited the ancient historic castle acquired by his parents over 60 years ago. Surrounded by vines, he set out to teach himself winemaking from grapes initially from the small, 5-acre vineyard on this hillside in Fiesole, but expanded and grew to bringing in grapes contracted from other growers around the region. Through sourcing arrangements with growers from parcels of old vines around Tuscany, Bibi had full control of style and crafting of his wines. 

This label, Soffocone di Vincigliata, is the only wine named by a specific designated vineyard of production, punctuating the special link between this wine and the hill where Bibi Graetz started his project. The beautiful vineyard of Vincigliata in Fiesole overlooks Firenze with one of the most romantic view of the city, from which Bibi took inspiration for the name and the unique label.

In the vein of Super Tuscans, but a little on the more elegant side, this wine is structured, complex and sophisticated. Sourced from 40 year-old vines it is primarily Sangiovese, 90%, but also blended with grape varieties Canaiolo Nero, 7% and 3% Colorino. It is fermented in stainless steel followed by aging in French barrels for 15 months and finished in bottle for 6 months.

Dark purple garnet colored, medium bodied, bright tangy plum, cherry and dark berry fruits with notes of licorice and a touch of lavender turning to dense fine-grained tannins on a lively bright acidity finish.

 

RM 89 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3165262

https://www.bibigraetz.com/it/index.php

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/wine-cellar/

https://twitter.com/italianvlg

https://twitter.com/jzgwine

 

 

 

Montemercurio 'Messaggero' at Palinuro Italian Katy

Montemercurio 'Messaggero' at Palinuro Italian Restaurant Katy

For a team workshop with our tech team in Houston, we held a dinner at Palinuro Italian restaurant in Katy (TX). Since their opening in 2019, owner/manager Gabriele and staff have developed a reputation for innovative Italian cuisine in the style of his southern Italian seaside hometown Palinuro, after which the restaurant is named. 

Gabriele applies skills honed over 15 years in the restaurant industry mastering old world techniques of handmade pasta, finest ingredients and imaginative preparations and presentations, in a trendy comfortable hospitable setting.

Executive Chef Paolo also has Italian roots, on the Italian island of Sardinia, and has been developing his culinary skills for over 40 years in Italy and in restaurants in Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills.

I studied the menu earlier in the day and pre-selected my dinner entree choices, but when our host and server, Jorge, presented the daily specials, I opted for the Vitello Marsalla, grilled veal chop marinaded with fresh herbs and garlic served in a marsala sauce with mashed potatoes and spinach. 

Others in our group selected the Sea Bass, but when we exceeded the number of available plates, several deferred to an alternate, the special substitution Salmon offering. 

Jorge also promoted the pasta special featuring Fettucini served in a highly recommended house specialty Truffle Parmesan Reggiano sauce with fresh shaved truffle. This was presented in and served from a large cheese wheel at tableside (shown right). 

I requested a side dish of this special selection and it was fantastic, an incredibly delicious preparation of truffle, cheese and pasta, a new reference benchmark for Fetuccini Alfredo.   

Everything was exceptional from the soup and salads to the entrees and the dessert course. All were served with stylish presentations and attentive professional service. The dinner was spectacular in all respects and definitely worth checking out, and we'll look forward to returning if the occasion rises.

From the winelist I selected an Le Volte dell’Ornellaia, the baby brother of a fabulous wine we had at a dinner recently at Italian Village, Chicago. This wine was not available and Jorge suggested and offered this Super Tuscan instead.

Palinuro don't show their winelist on their website. When presented, I was surprised and impressed by the Palinuro winelist, while somewhat small or limited, it offered a creative and thoughtful selection - all Italian, especially the aged bottles such as this one (even though the vintages were not shown), and the super premium labels such as the grand vin flagship Ornellaia.

Montemercurio Messaggero Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG 2011

From the Palinuro winelist we were served this big red that proved to be a wonderful choice and an ideal pairing with our Italian fare, and a high QPR - quality price ratio, value selection.

Montemercurio is a small estate located just outside the town of Montepulciano, a medieval Renaissance hill town in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It is located about 75 miles southeast of Florence, 115 miles north of Rome.

Montepulciano is also the center of the so-named wine-producing region, known for producing Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, the DOCG designated (Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita) name for the Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Classico labels, the principal red wines of Tuscany.

Montepulciano wines are made primarily from the Sangiovese grape varietal (known locally as Prugnolo gentile), from a minimum of 70 to 100%, sometimes blended with Canaiolo Nero and small amounts of other local varieties such as Mammolo. The DOCG wines are aged for 2 years, at least 1 year in oak barrels, and for three years if it is a "riserva". (The wine should not be confused with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a red wine made from the Montepulciano grape in the Abruzzo region of east-central Italy.)

Azienda Agricola Montemercurio is owned by the Anselmi/Luciani family, run by Marco Anselmi. The estate was developed by Marco's grandfather, Damo, who planted many of the vines over 60 years ago. The estate terroir consists of clay and limestone soils sitting at an altitude of 450 meters. 

The Messaggero labeled wine is aged in large Slavonian oak barrels for 3 years, followed by a minimum of 18 months bottle. Marco refuses to release his wines until he feels they are ready to drink, consequently his current release may be five years behind what other producers in the region are selling.

Montemercurio Messaggero is 100% Sangiovese, crafted from the careful selection of the best Sangiovese grapes that have been cultivated in the optimum zones of the DOC region from those vineyards that produce grapes of the highest quality.

Dark garnet color with brick highlights, medium bodied, complex and powerful yet approachable with concentrated black cherry fruits with notes of leather and tobacco with hints of mint, tea and mineral with firm round tannins on the finish. 

RM 91 points. 

This was an ideal accompaniment to the zesty and flavorful Italian dishes - an excellent recommendation - and at ten years of age - nicely integrated and mature, likely at the apex of its drinking window. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/editnote.asp?iWine=3049585

https://www.montemercurio.com

 

https://www.palinuroitalian.com/

https://www.montemercurio.com/en/press/85-vinous-antonio-galloni-2.html 

Saggi Long Shadows Sangiovese Red Blend

 Saggi Long Shadows Vintners Collection Sangiovese Red Blend with Angeli's Italian Dinner

We dined with Sean and Michelle and newborn grand-daughter, Lavender at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. To accompany our Italian cuisine selections, I pulled from the cellar this unique Sangiovese red blend from the notable Long Shadows Vintners Collection which was a perfect pairing thereby amplifying the enjoyment of both the wine and the dinner.

We obtained this limited release label through our Vault Key Club release allocation shipment of Long Shadows Vintners Series which we discovered and signed up for this during our Washington Wine Experience when we visited the winery tasting room in Woodinville last fall.

Our visit to Woodinville was part of our Seattle Culinary and Wine Experience. During our visit to Long Shodows we discovered and acquired this wine. This is a selection of the Long Shadows Vintners Collection, a portfolio of seven ultra-premium wines showcasing the viticulture of the Washington State Columbia Valley growing region and the artwork and expertise of internationally acclaimed winemakers who crafted them. 

This Saggi label is crafted by the father-son team of Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari, one of Italy’s oldest and most prestigious Tuscan wine families from A. & G. Folonari Tenute that produces a collection of small, ultra-premium wines from the family's numerous Tuscan estates. The Folonaris teamed with Allen Shoup to produce a wine that showcases Washington State's terroir with plenty of Italian character through the Long Shadows Vintners Collection program. Saggi (meaning "wisdom") is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. 

Vibrant and lively, this weighty Sangiovese-dominant blend offers enticing aromas and flavors of red berries and currants with an appealing hint of nutmeg and sweet spice. An elegant and refined wine, its bright acidity pops on the palate with expressive red fruit character that echoes across a long-lasting finish.

The 2016 Saggi is mostly Sangiovese at 60%, but has 29% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Syrah.

Bright ruby-colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced and polished, black cherry fruits are accented by with notes of spice box, dried flowers and hints of cedar and vanilla, smooth sweet tannins linger on a clean, graceful finish.

RM 92 points.

Wine Advocate Jeb Dunnuck gave it 92 points noting, "It's certainly one of the best expressions of Sangiovese from Washington."

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=3096196

http://longshadows.orderport.net/product-details/0536/2016-Saggi

https://twitter.com/LongShadowsWine

https://angeliscatering.com/

 

Team Dinner at Italian Village Chicago

Team Dinner at Italian Village Chicago features Galatrona Toscana, Caprili Brunello di Montalcino and a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione

My leadership team (engineering, development, operations and strategy) gathered in Chicago again as we continue to build out our strategic plan. Once again, we dined at Italian Village, Chicago, our regular dinesite due to its broad menu, extraordinary wine cellar list, proximity to the office and our hotels, and our long standing friendships with staff there. 

Being what is becoming a regular outing, as somewhat regulars there, tonight we had fun presenting to Gina Capitanini, third generation owner of the historic restaurant, a 'team picture' of this part of our group with wine director Jared Gelband and Garardo, one of the floor managers. Look for it/us on the walls of pictures of celebrities, notables, and some of us regulars.

Wine Director Jared Gelband, recently returned from his wine tour to Italy, pulled from the cellar a couple wines for our dinner, a Sangiovese and a extraordinary Tuscan Chianti Classico Merlot Bordeaux varietal, and a blend of the two. 

Prior to dinner we met to plan a special event dinner for an upcoming global team gathering and we had a glass of this classic unique premium label.

Vignamaggio Monna Lisa Gran Selezione Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

This producer estate, Vignamaggio, has been in operation since 1404. The estate sprawls over more than 400 hectares, with vineyards, vegetable and ornamental gardens and a historic winery. The state-of-the-art working farm has Chianti Classico vineyards, olive groves, thriving vegetable gardens and fruit trees, forests, and also raises animals.

This label is named in tribute to the daughter of the original owners of the estate, who became eternally famous after Leonardo da Vinci painted her portrait.

It carries the distinctive "Gran Selezione" designation and is only made in the best years. It is produced from select grapes from Vignamaggio top three, most prized vineyards – Prato, Solatio and Querceto. It is a blend of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged partially in French oak barriques for 18–20 months and partially in larger barrels. The entire ageing process takes a minimum of 30 months, of which at least six are in the bottle.

The Gran Selezione designation, established less than a decade ago, was created to allow Chianti producers to compete with Brunello Riservas and the best of Montalcino, with longer aging requirements and a high quality standard, showcasing and representing the best of Chianti.

The 2016 vintage release was one of the best ever  with both Vinous and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate scoring it as their favorite vintage ever, such that this is considered the best version of Monna Lisa yet.

Only five pallets of this superlative Gran Selezione made their way to the US, a tiny amount for a wine  with such a reputation as a can’t-miss for Tuscan lovers and collectors. Its not surprising that Italian Village with their extensive deep and broad cellar offer this on their winelist.  

This was awarded 94 points by Vinous.

Dark, bright ruby purple colored, somewhat translucent yet full-bodied, this is complex and concentrated, combining Sangiovese’s savory, red-fruit richness with the velvety softness of Merlot and powerful structure from a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon, concentrated yet elegant with black and red cherry fruits, wine, allspice, notes of tobacco and leather turning to gripping but polished tannins on the long long finish. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3602213

https://vignamaggio.com/

Amazingly, after dozens of meals at Italian Village Chicago over as many years, tonight's meal was one of the best ever. I write often about the importance of pairing the right wine with food, or vice versa, which can have a multiplicative effect when done perfectly. 

Reading the Italian Village menu, I was drawn to the "House Specialty" designation of the Lasagna, with meat sauce, white cream sauce, Parmesan cheese, baked in Mozzarella cheese (shown right). Selecting this for my dinner this was the best Lasagna I have ever tasted, and was perfectly matched with the exceptional Galatrona Toscana. 

While opening, decanting and serving the Galatrona, Jared described the wine, the producer, and the profile and character of this aged vintage release. Listening to this, colleague Kevin changed his entree selection to the filet of beef steak with sauteed shrimp (shown left), topped with a sauteed garlic and olive oil sauce served over spinach, which proved to be another extraordinary pairing. 

A couple of the fellas had what is becoming another regular favorite, the Pheasant Agnolottini - pillow shaped pheasant-filled pasta in a butter sage sauce, sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

Of course, our dinners there are all about the pairing of the food with extraordinary, spectacular wines - taking advantage of the extraordinary Italian Village cellar and winelist selection!

Galatrona Petrolo Toscana 2001

Petrolo produces estate bottled terroir driven wines from vines of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, focusing on careful selection of grapes from low yields and artful winemaking.

Back in 1716 Cosimo III de Medici, the Great Duke of Tuscany, stated with an edict which areas had the most valuable production of fine wine and quality olive oil, recognizing 4 areas, Chianti center (between Panzano and Greve), Carmignano (west of Florence), Pomino (east of Florence) and the Val d’Arno di Sopra (the western and eastern hills along the Arno river between Florence and Arezzo, where Petrolo is located) .

A century later, in 1834, agronomist Giorgio Perrin, owner of Petrolo and member of the Accademia dei Gergofili of Florence, noted Sangiovese from this area, especially that spot called Campo Asciutto (now Bòggina), was commonly planted and blended with “French grapes” in Chianti to combine with Sangiovese. 

The Estate was acquired in the 40’s by the family Bazzocchi that followed up the tradition of carefully producing high quality wines. Petrolo’s vineyards extend across 75 acres in the DOC Val d’ Arno di Sopra appellation, bordering the south eastern area of Chianti Classico. The vineyards are found at an altitude between 250 and 450 meters elevation consisting of loose-packed soil with different mixture of rocks like marl, sandstone and shale typical of the Chianti area.

The Galatrona vineyard consists of 7 1/2 acres, planted in 1990, the first Merlot vineyard that Petrolo planted. This label, Galatrona has been produced from this vineyard since it’s very first bottling in 1994, composed of 100% Merlot.

The Feriale vineyard, added another 12 acres to the Galatrona vineyard, when it was planted in the 90’s, almost entirely of Merlot plants, with a few vines planted to Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, intended for the production of Galatrona. The peculiar soil, rich in clay in combination with schist, marl and sandstones, allows the concentration of all the noble components of the grapes, fundamental for the great structure, elegance, balance and persistence wanted for this wine.

Petrolo’s wines are crafted to achieve the greatest quality that also best represent the terroir of the historic Estate. Galatrona wines were ranked among the ten best merlot in the world according to Wine-Searcher.com in November 2018. 

Galatrona is the “Gran-Cru” of Merlot of Petrolo, only made with the finest select grapes from the vineyard of the same name.  

This label was awarded 96 points and a Collectible by Wine Spectator,  and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate who said: "The 2001 Galatrona confirms its status as one of Tuscany’s better Merlot bottlings." Production has grown from 850 cases in the early years to 2500 cases in recent year. 

At twenty years, this is likely at the apex of its drinking window, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever, with perfect cork, but not likely to improve any further from aging. Look at the difference in the color of the residue on the corks between the two bottles of our flight - the Sangiovese (ruby) and the Merlot (dark garnet).

Opened and decanted for an hour, dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, a symphony of elegant flavors, soft, silky, polished, dense blackberry and notes of black cherry and plum fruits with tones of mineral, spice, tobacco and leather with smooth polished fine grained tannins on a long seductive finish. 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=97792

https://www.petrolo.it/

 Caprili Brunello di Montalcina 2016

The estate was founded by Alfo Bartolommei in 1965. The Bartolommei family settled in the Municipality of Montalcino at the beginning of the last century.  The family originated from Podere Marzolo in the Municipality of Cinigiano (Province of Grosseto).

In 1911, the family moved to Podere Poggi, moving several times from one country home to another on the Villa Santa Restituta estate until they finally arrived at the Caprili farm home in 1952 which they took over and continued to work the land by sharecropping.  

In 1965, the Bartolommei family decided to buy the property from the Castelli-Martinozzi family, owners of Villa Santa Restituta estate.  In the same year, 1965, they planted the first vineyard, still called “Madre” to this day, where the clones for the new vineyards planted on the estate are selected.

The first bottle of Brunello di Montalcino was the 1978 harvest and was put on the market in 1983.

A great representation of Sangiovese at its best from a spectacular vintage, this 2016 release was awarded 96 points by Wine Enthusiast, 95 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectato, and 94 points by James Suckling and Vinous.  45,000 bottles were produced. 

 

Bright ruby colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant tangy slightly tart cherry and ripe plum fruits with floral, dusty rose, cedar and hints of mint and camphor with tones of leather, and smoky creosote on a zesty acidic found tannin laced finish. 

 

RM 91 points.

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3255726

 

https://www.caprili.it/en/home/  

 

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/

 

 

 

Italian Village Chicago Team Dinner

Italian Village Chicago Team Dinner features Super Tuscan and Barolo Nebbiolo wines

For a team dinner we dined at our regular go-to venue in the Chicago city centre, a few blocks walking distance from our office and our hotels, Italian Village Chicago, in one of their select private tables. 

We chose two wines from the extensive Italian Village winelist from their extraordinary cellar which serves all three restaurants under normal times, two Italian labels to accompany our dinner.

Normally we'd be served by Wine Director and dear friend Jared Gelband but he is touring Italy visiting several producer estates. We were served by Gerardo who in normal times would manage the upscale Vivere restaurant but is helping manage the Italian Village floor during these crazy Covid times.

Tenuta di Arceno Valadorna di Arcanum Toscana IGT 2013

This is a 'Super Tuscan' Blend meaning it is from French Bordeaux varietals grown in the Italian Tuscany region. The producer, Tenuta di Arceno is an old historic Tuscan estate with a diverse portfolio of the highest quality wines across two classification levels – three wines centered on the native Sangiovese grape in the Chianti Classico DOCG collection; and three wines from the estate’s international (French Bordeaux) varieties under the Toscana IGT designation. 

The estate is situated at the southernmost-edge of the Chianti Classico region in the butterfly-shaped commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga, near the village of Siena, often referred to as ‘the most Senese Chianti Classico,’adjacent the scenic ancient walled town of San Gusmè.

The sub-region is home to several world-renowned producers who produce stylistically distinct wines. 

The Tenuta di Arceno estate is 1,000 total hectares (2,500 acres) of which 92 hectares (220 acres) are planted to vineyards – the remaining land preserved for native vegetation including 50 hectares (125 acres) of olive orchards. The vineyards are separated into 63 blocks, the vineyards planted to 50% the region's native Sangiovese, and the remaining 50% with international varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

This is a Merlot-based blend sourced primarily from the Valadorna and Capraia vineyards' blocks, known to produce the estate’s most complex and mineral-based expressions of this variety. The Merlot blocks, located in the cooler part of the estate, naturally irrigated by a nearby stream, with sandy brown soils and lower yields than typical, are often the last Merlot blocks to ripen on the estate.

The recent 2019 vintage release of this label received the coveted Tre Bicchieri (“Three Glasses”) award. Each yeara a panel of prominent wine experts review wines from each of Italy’s 20 regions evaluating over 23,000 wines from 2500 producers and awarding scores ranging from 0 to 3 Glasses (“Bicchieri”) according to the quality of the wine. Tre Bicchieri wines are generally recognized in Italy and by the international wine community as Italy’s best. A Tre Bicchieri award is a really big deal for a winery. The tastings are done blind so there is no favoritism or influence on the outcomes.

Winemaker's tasting notes: "The 2013 was a classic vintage, yet on the cool side, which favors the perfect ripening of Merlot. The Valadorna Merlot was picked on October 1st, allowing ample time on the vine for perfect maturation and tannin development. The nose jumps from the glass with exotic spices of jasmine, cumin and vanilla bean. The fruit expression is of raspberry and black cherry. The mouthfeel is dominated by long flexible tannins framed by slight tingling acids. The immediate sensation of blueberry pie gives way to an uplifting bright sour cherry finish. As the fruit subsides, what remains on the palate are hints of sweet cedar and cigar box notes. The 2013 is an elegant vintage and will age gracefully."

This is a Bordeaux varietal blend of 74% Merlot, 13 % Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and
1% Petit Verdot. 

This was an ideal compliment to my pasta with a tangy meat sauce. 

Dark purple-garnet colored, medium full bodied, complex and intense but well integrated and nicely balanced vibrant blackberry with notes of black cherries and currants, highlights of dark chocolate, espresso, and Tuscan terroir cedar, dried spice, smoke and tobacco with hints of vanilla, and leather, with firm but approaching tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3296253

https://www.tenutadiarceno.com/en

For a second wine, I selected from the IV winelist this Italian Barolo, a native Nebbiolo varietal to accompany our Italian cuisine. Ideally, we would've tasted this stylistic varietal first ahead of the more complex, more concentrated Tuscan blend however it was an appropriate pairing with several of the folk's Italian entree dishes.

Bruna Grimaldi Bricco Ambroglio Barolo 2014

This is from the Bruna Grimaldi family estate in the hills that between Grinzane Cavour to Serralunga d’Alba, in the heart of Langhe, part of the Unesco Heritage. The Grimaldi family have been in the wine business since the 1960's when Giacomo Grimaldi started selling grapes, then his son, Giovanni Grimaldi began produce wine and selling it in bulk. 

Giovanni bottles estate wines in the best vintages with a long library of releases over the following decades. 

Since the 1990's the property and brand have been managed by the next generation, Bruna Grimaldi and her husband Franco Fiorino. They built a new upgraded winery and produce wines only from their own vineyards. Franco tends to the vineyard management and winemaking, and is the driving force in the company focusing on Langhe sourced Nebbiolo and Barbera.  Bruna manages the family business, an oenologist, she is a member of “Donne del Vino” Association. 

Since 2013, the next generation, Simone and Martina, son and daughter of Bruna and Franco, have joined their parents’ learning from their experience and their studies to promote and continue on with the Bruna Grimaldi brand. 

The best Langhe plots are selected for the production of Barolo, the Bricco Ambrogio Barolo known for great elegance. The vineyard terroir have a perfect exposure to the sun with a hot microclimate ideal for Nebbiolo which tend to picked earlier and differentiate themselves in the rainier and cooler vintages.  Their estate Barolo is known to show warm, open perfumes, tending to ripe fruits and spice notes with structure that lean on silky and enjoyable tannins.

 
This is 100% Nebbiolo from the MGA Bricco Ambrogio vineyard in the municipality of Roddi. The terroir boasts southern exposure with very steep slopes, with grey-blue layers of clay in limestone and sand. 

 

This was awarded 92 points by Wine Spectator and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast. 

 

Ruby colored, medium bodied, bright red cherry fruits with spicy notes of clove and accents of earth, leather, oak, hints of smoke with a tangy acid on a moderate tannin finish. 

 

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3073416

https://www.grimaldibruna.it/en/wines/barolo-bricco-ambrogio-docg/

 

 

 

Capri Indy Italian Cuisine & Wine Dinner

Capri Indy Italian Cuisine & Wine Dinner Features San Guido Guildalberto and Arcanum Toscana

Visiting best of friends and relatives in Indianapolis, we dined at Capri Ristorante al fresco. Capri Ristorante has been a part of the Indianapolis dining scene since 1951, one of Indy’s finest and oldest locally owned restaurants. 

The Italian cuisine was extraordinary - the Veal Scallopine Parmigiana and off-menu specially prepared eggplant Parmigiana were both were as good as we can remember ever having tasted anywhere.

They have a thoughtfully crafted extensive winelist with equal offerings of American and Italian wines,  including selections of both by the glass.

We selected two Italian red wines, Tuscans comprised of Bordeaux varietals to complement our dinner entrees. 

Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum Toscana IGT 2013 

This outstanding Super Tuscan was a special offer, not on the winelist. 

Arcanum is from Tenuta di Arceno in located in the southernmost corner of Chianti Classico between the cities of Siena and Florence in the commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga in the province of Siena, Tuscany. 

The property covers 2,500 acres of rolling hills, forests of ancient Cypress trees, olive groves and 223 acres planted to vineyards. It is bordered by the ancient walled town of San Gusmé.

The Tenuta di Arceno estate was purchased by the California wine legend Jess Jackson in 1994.  The legendary wine entrepreneur Jess Jackson and notable winemaker Vigneron Pierre Seillan visited Tenuta di Arceno in 1994 and immediately recognized the potential of the historic estate. 

After taking over the estate, they spent the following two decades replanting the vineyards, updating the winery, and elevating the viticulture and winemaking practices to world-class standards. Today, Tenuta di Arceno is widely considered one of the premier estates in the Chianti Classico region.

This Arcanum 2013 label release was crafted by Seillan who has has been awarded no less than fifteen 100-point scores from Wine Advocate for his work with the Sonoma producer Peter Michael and his portfolio of labels including the flagship Verite. Five of those perfect wines were for his Cabernet Franc based wine Le Desir which is nearly identical to the blend of this Super Tuscan.  

Cabernet Franc is the predominant varietal grape grown by Arcanum as it has proven to be the variety best suited to the estate’s diverse soils and topography.

This was dark garnet colored, full bodied, deeply concentrated, complex, powerful and thickly layered yet nicely balanced and approachable black berry and black cherry fruits accented note of spice, anise, graphite, herbs and notes of balsamic on a fine tannin laced lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

This was awarded 96 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

The 2013 Arcanum is a Bordeaux blend of 73% Cabernet Franc with smaller parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3642920 

https://www.tenutadiarceno.com/en

We then followed with this classic Italian Chianti Classico. 

Tenuta San Guido Guildalberto 2019

We next tasted this big bold bright lively Italian red. 

This is from Tenuta San Guido, a 7,500-acre estate located in the province of Livorno on the western coastal outskirts of Tuscany near the village of Bolgheri. Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta acquired it through his marriage to Clarice della Gherardesca in 1940.

Tenuta San Guido are known for their legendary flagship Sassicaia label whose legacy began in 1944, when Mario Incisa acquired a number of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vine cuttings and planted them on a sloping hillside of the San Guido estate, called Castiglioncello after the 11th-century castle at the vineyard's upper edge. The tiny, 3.75-acre vineyard stood alone until 1965, when a second Cabernet vineyard was planted with cuttings from the Castiglioncello parcel; the gravelly, 30-acre plot would give the wine its name: Sassicaia, "the place of many stones".

This is Sassicaia's little brother, Guidalberto, a lush Super Tuscan sourced completely from the Tenuta San Guido estate in Bolgheri. It is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, . 

Producer Nicolò Incisa explained the choice of the name and creation of the new wine in 2000: this label wine was first released in 2000, created to see what they could achieve with Merlot, a grape that they had never used before; and to offer the consumer a wine which could be appreciated at a younger age compared to the veteran long lived Sassicaia.

The wine is aged 15 months mostly in French and some American oak barrels.

This 2019 release was 95 points and Editor's Choice by Wine Enthusiast, 95 points Luca Gardini, Gardini Notes and 94 Points by the Zachys (NY) Buying Team.

We first tasted and discovered this label at a wine producer dinner at Italian Village Chicago last year hosted by Italian Village Chicago and Wine Director Jared Gelband and featuring producer co-owner Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta. That dinner showcased a vertical tasting of the flagship Sassicaia, but opened with this label. 

This was darky inky garnet purple colored, medium full bodied, nicely balanced, bright vibrant blackberry and ripe plum fruits accented by zesty anise, hints of smoke, vanilla and graphite, and by tangy acid on the expressive finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3642920

https://capriindianapolis.com/

Italian Barolo for Italian Cuisine

Italian Barolo for Italian Cuisine 

We dined with two of our boys Alec and Sean and their spouses Vivanna and Michelle at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. I took BYOB from our cellar this vintage Silvio Grasso Barolo for the occasion. For our Italian dinner I wanted to take an Italian varietal wine, preferably a Sangiovese or a Nebbiolo, and this was one of the few that we hold in our cellar as most of our collection is comprised of Bordeaux and Rhone varietals.

Produced by the Grasso family who have been producing wine since 1927, but Federico Grasso only started bottling all their production since the mid 1980s, when Alessio Federico took over from his father Silvio. 

Grassos farm a total of 14 hectares of vineyards; 6 estate owned and 8 leased in the La Morra, Barolo wine district from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy. Federico Grasso is backed by his wife Marilena and by his sons Silvio and Paolo. According to Robert Parker, they have  "produced a bevy of sensational efforts over recent vintages."

Despite their small overall production, they produce a dozen different labels, six of which are different  sophisticated, modern Barolos produced in a style noted for avoiding excessive wood aromas as Grasso prefers to use large barrels rather than barriques for maturation, and uses less than 30% new wood even on his single-vineyard bottlings. All the Barolos are 100% estate grown Nebbiolo grapes with this being their entry level estate bottled label.

They also produce several small production single vineyard labels, "Bricco Luciani", which is located just above Molino’s "Gancia" vineyard classic La Morra, which is soft and generous, while the "Ciabot Manzoni" was described as "Godzilla-like" by Parker, "multidimensional, compelling/prodigious... gigantic in scope and stature"; this wine was given 95 points for the 2004 by the Wine Spectator. Notably, all of Grasso's 2004 Baroli were awarded scores between 92-95 points.

This is 100% estate bottled Nebbiolo sourced from a small 4 acre vineyard from vines planted in 1982. Nebbiolo is characterized by aromatic wines with rich tannins and characteristics of old oak, these wines are considered by most to be some Italy's finest. 

Barolo wines are some of the most noble and expensive of Italian wines and are synonymous with the Nebbiolo grape.  The Nebbiolo grape does not travel well and is high maintenance, which is why it has never thrived quite as well elsewhere as on the Piemontese slopes and was not adopted by other wine producing regions. Like its top contender, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo reflects its terroir and displays the subtleties of its environment and sense of 'place' where it is grown.

Silvio Grasso Barolo 2010

This release was awarded 94 points by James Suckling and 91 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

Analyst notes: "This wine is robust with evident notes of red flowers on the nose. The palate will enjoy significant acid and strong, long, earthy finish. These wines collect well, although consult a specialist to get a hold of of the best vintages."

Dark garnet colored, slightly opaque, medium bodied, complex, concentrated with deep dark berry and black cherry fruits with notes of tobacco, leather, smoke, mineral and floral turning to approachable tannins on the moderate finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1828058

http://www.silviograsso.com/en/prodotti/barolo