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/enFor 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/
