Italian Village Wine and Dine features Barolo trio

Italian Village (Chicago) Wine and Dine features WBTG and Barolo trio 

For a midweek dinner respite from hosting my global sales team, I stole away to perennial favorite, Italian Village - Chicago for a relaxing dinner before hosting the group for a team dinner the next evening.

Wine Director and wine buddy Jared (Gelband) (right) served up several wines from the WBTG (Wine By The Glass)  list and Jared's special "Jared's pour of the week" list served in the upscale Vivere Restaurant.

Italian Village, is Chicago's oldest continuously operating Italian Restaurant in the city, operating since 1927.

In its 92nd year, IV actually consists of three restaurants each with its own kitchens, chef and menu's. The three restaurants are on the three levels of the site on Monroe Street between Clark and Dearborn Streets. They share one wine cellar and one wine-list from the main cellar,  with the exception that Jared prepares a premium reserve wine-by-the-glass selection for the upscale Vivere Restaurant on the ground floor. I sampled the offerings from the standard as well as that special list.

Prior to dinner I tasted the house Verdicchio, a pleasant light and refreshing starter. I feature that wine in a separate follow on blogpost where I explain the grape varietal and the complexities of parsing the complex Italian wine label - Barone Pizzini Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva San Paolo Pievalta DOC 2013.

With caprese salad of heirloom tomatos and mozzarella, I tasted the current 'house' Brunello di Montalcino offered from the WBTG (Wines By The Glass) list.

Tenute Silvio Nardi Brunello di Montacino Sangiovesi 2012

This paired nicely with my pasta course and begs for a robust cheese or bolognese meat sauce.

Ruby colored, medium bodied, bright tangy red fruits with floral and leather notes turning to an acidic moderate tannin finish. 100% Sangiovese varietal.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2636622

Bergadano Pier Carlo Barolo 2012 

Slightly opaque ruby colored, medium bodied, tangy black cherry and black berry fruits with notes of tar and tobacco leaf with a layer of acidic tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3122818

Barolo is a DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) wine produced in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. It is made from the Nebbiolo grape and is one of Italy's greatest wines. Barolo wines are produced in the communes of Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba and parts of the communes of Cherasco, Diano d'Alba, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Novello, Roddi, Verduno, all in the province of Cuneo, south-west of Alba.

Barolo production codes stipulate that vineyards must be located on hillsides, however a recent revision of the production code released in 2010 goes further to specifically exclude valley floors, humid and flat areas, areas without sufficient sunlight, and areas with full-on northern exposures.

Barolo wines are noted for their ability to age and need to be aged for at least 38 months after the harvest before release, of which at least 18 months must be in wood.

Fontanafredda Lazzarito Barolo Vigna la Delizia DOCG 1996

This is a single vineyard designated bottling of 100% Nebbiolo from the legendary producer. This was a very special offering to be able to sample BTG - By-the-Glass, it was offered as "Jared's pour of the week" on the Vivere Restaurant special offer wine-list.

RM 92

Wine buddy Dr Dan and I tasted this same label last year BYOB from his cellar at a dining outing together.  Dan served the '99 vintage of this at his Big Italian wine dinner last year. At our wine dinner outing, my tasting notes stated. "This '96 showed medium bodied, dark garnet colored, vibrant bright black cherry fruits, tones of acidity, tar, smoke and leather on a moderate tannin lingering finish."

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=622731

Later Jared served up a special Amarone by the glass as well.

The next evening for my team dinner, Jared served another Barolo from the same producer, instead of this single vineyard designated label, according to the 25th anniversary label, this is the first 'single-village' bottling from Serralunga D'Alba, served in magnum as well as several standard size bottles.

Fontanafredda Serralunga D'Alba Barolo DOCG 25th Anniversary Special Edition Bottling Nebbiolo 2013

Medium garnet in colour with a slight rust colored orange hue at the edges, medium-full bodied with nicely balanced complex integrated bright tangy red berry fruits with notes of earth, leather and mushrooms with medium tannins and acidity.

RM 88 points 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2687746

http://www.fontanafredda.it/site/en/home_en/ 

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/

Azelia San Rocco Barolo 2001

Azelia di Luigi Scavino San Rocco Barolo (Nebbiolo) 2001

Readers of this blog know we don't do a lot of Italian wines. Less than 1% of our cellar is in Italian labels. There are so many appellations and varietals and producers across all the regions, I advise folks to find one you like and focus on a few to develop knowledge and understanding of that area, and then move on. We focus on Bordeaux and Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot...) and Rhone and its varietals (which includes Syrah/Shiraz and thus includes Australia's popular varietal).

I admit, I am not well versed in Italian wine regions and their associated grape varietals. I've written before that in the 'new world', we name or label our wines based on the primary grape varietal in the bottle. In the 'old world', they, (the French, Italians, Germans), name the wine for the region or appellation, and its up to the consumer to understand the applicable wine grape varietal associated with that area. For example, Left Bank Bordeaux appellations (growing areas) such as St Julien and Paulliac are Cabernet Sauvignon based blends, while Right Bank Bordeaux such as St Emilion and Pomerol are Merlot based blends.

In this case of Italy and Barolo, the wines are based on the Nebbiolo grape varietal.  Perhaps this is obvious, but the neophyte, or even learned wine geeks who don't know Italian wines, don't necessarily know the association of Sangiovese or Nebbiolo varietals and their regions and appellations, Barolo, Piedmont, Tuscany etc.

Skip ahead if this is known and basic, or bear with me if you're interested in learning these fundamentals of Barolo which is a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) (aka appellation in France or AVA (American (Agriculture) Viticultural Area) in America) in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. Barolos are red wines made primarily from the Nebbiolo grape varietal. Within the Piedmont Barolo DOCG are the communes of Barolo, (in this case) Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d'Alba, and parts of the communes of Cherasco, Diano d'Alba, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Novello, Roddi and Verduno. These sub-appellations as they might be called in America, are mentioned on the label, but are secondary to the region name. To many, me included, this adds to the confusion of interpreting or parsing an Italian wine label.

Barolo wines tend to be bold, full bodied, tannic, firm, concentrated and long lived with tasting characteristics of black fruits, tar, rose petals and smoke.
 
Readers of this blog will also know that we dine regularly at Angeli's Italian, our local trattoria, and when we do, we're limited in our Italian focused BYOB selections if we want to stay true to the native food wine pairing.

Tonight, for a casual mid-week dinner, I pulled this bottle from our limited Italian selection in the cellar with little foresight or understanding on what to expect in this fourteen year old. Wow, what a nice surprise. This Barolo was a blockbuster, a perfect accompaniment to our entree selections, Portabella Mushroom Ravioli with ricotta cheese, sauteed in marsala wine cream sauce, and the daily special, Asparagus Ravioli.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, expressive complex concentrated but nicely integrated fruits of blackberry and black currant fruits highlighted by tones of tar, anise and smoke, and subdued earth and tobacco leaf notes, turning to firm but smooth polished tannins on the lingering tongue puckering finish.

I will look forward to exploring and adding more Barolo including this label to our wine acquisitions and selections in the future.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=101319

http://www.azelia.it/it/