Berserkers,
Fellow board member Ross Morrison organized an Italian themed wine dinner at Grappa restaurant on the southwest side of Toronto (www.grapparestaurant.ca) this past Friday evening. This was my first visit to it and it was a fabulous experience. It’s very much a classical old school Italian restaurant with amazing food and great service. We picked a very busy night with a full house with many couples and families dining as well as us along with two birthday celebrations happening.
This was not a Toronto Wine Elitist Cabal ™ event, it was all Ross’ shindig and his core group most of whom I’ve met previously at fellow board member Dylan Provencher’s events. I was merely crashing as the token straggler but I’m more than happy to co-opt everyone into TWEC ™. Attending beside Ross and myself were Peter, Bill, Walter, Glenn, Darcy, Chris and Lianne, most of whom I believe are on the board as well.
The wine theme was Italian wines with a trio of showcase flights generously donated and put together by the attendees: a Barolo/Barbaresco flight, a Barbera D’Alba flight and an all 2001 Brunello di Montalicino flight. We also had a mini-Champagne flight to start and a dessert wine flight to end as well for our bookends.
Ross and the restaurant worked together to expertly pair off a 7 course dinner to match the wines. As such, instead of tackling the wines and food separately as I usually do in my reports, I’ll tackle each flight, it’s course, and their effect on each other as we go. A huge thank you and shout out to the floor and kitchen staff at Grappa for putting this all together and to Ross for organizing. You might want to grab a nice glass of a wine and a snack or two yourself for this one. Here we go:
STARTER FLIGHT: CHAMPAGNE
COURSE: HOUSE BREAD BASKET WITH HUMMUS AND CARPACCIO
BARON FUENTE 2009 BRUT CHAMPAGNE – 45% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Meunier, and 15% Pinot Noir blend. Rich baked apple and brioche nose. Texture is heavy on cream and Peter notes the larger perlage with big bubbles. Really strong cream and baked brioche flavors supported by sweet baked apples underneath. This was almost like drinking an apple strudel. Peter did note that due to the larger perlage, our glasses were going flat really quickly in comparison to the Lanson. Ross notes that it punches above its weight and price and gives very good value.
LANSON 2005 GOLD LABEL BRUT CHAMPAGNE – I told everyone at the table that this was the 2007 but in fact it was the 2005 I had brought. I should probably read the label on my own wine next time. 49% Chardonnay and 51% Pinot Noir blend.
In complete contrast to the above, this was light in texture and Chris immediately noted the citrus on the palate which is correct, this has very bright, chalky and acidic white grapefruit flavor supported by a touch of baked apples and brioche. Really clean on the palate. Delicious stuff and I adored this.
We started with a bread basket filled with a crusty white loaf and a delicious jalapeno cornbread served with a side of fresh hummus. The cornbread was delicious and everyone devoured it.
Our first course following was a carpaccio of dry-cured beef with field greens and parmiggiano-reggiano.
This flight ended up being a classic example of what I consider the two Champagne styles prevalent in the wine world today: The rich style which focuses on baked fruit and brioche flavors and a creamy texture versus the racy style which focuses on citrus flavor and a pristine clean mouthfeel which I always refer to as a crystalline texture. I very much favor the latter style and worship at the altar of Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne because of it but I certainly enjoy the richer style as well. It was really fun seeing and hearing who preferred which Champagne, particularly when the floor manager came around to pour seconds for whoever wished and of those of us who did, half took the Baron Fuente again and the other half including myself took the Lanson. I much preferred the Lanson but agree with Ross that the quality and QPR value of the Baron Fuente is very high.
Interestingly, I found that the baked apple fruit in both sparklers was really magnified when paired with the jalapeno cornbread especially. The carpaccio didn’t match the wines so much as it was cleansed from the palate by the champagnes.
SECOND FLIGHT: BAROLO/BARBARESCO
COURSE: SEAFOOD WITH COGNAC SAUCE
LA GANGHIJA 2010 BARBARESCO – A very fresh Barbaresco with red berries, cherries, and the tell-tale anise/black licorice flavor on the palate and turpentine on the nose. Tannins are strong on this one and it absolutely needs food to pair with.
BROVIA 2004 BAROLO – A little more austere than the La Ganghija. The extra age has softened the tannins a bit more but they’re still quite present. Much more persistent finish.
MAURO MOLINE 2003 BAROLO – Similar to the Brovia, this was restrained but extremely well balanced between the soft fruit and the tannins, I’d argue a touch more than the Brovia. Everyone else seemed really surprised that this was good and I don’t have enough knowledge to understand why so Ross and Peter explained to me that 2003 is historically considered one of the worst Piedmont vintages of all time due an insane heat wave that swept Italy during the growing season which of course would be disastrous for a grape as delicate as Nebbiolo. That knowledge pushes this wine up from pretty good to an achievement.
Our pairing was a delicious seafood medley in Cognac cream sauce which included large tiger shrimp, mussels, baby squid, and king crab leg. Many of us including me were openly questioning how this dish was going to work with the red wines, particularly raising an eyebrow at the Cognac sauce. Turned out to be a wonderful match. The seafood and sauce really tamed the tannins and brought the red fruit underneath in all three wines. Color me surprised but this was thoroughly enjoyable as a pairing with this flight.
I should note that we accidentally opened and poured the 2012 Aldo Conterno Barbera with this flight and we all put our glasses aside before properly returning to the Barolo/Barbaresco flight as soon as it was made clear but I did manage to preview it and as you’ll see in my next note set, I was completely blown away.
THIRD FLIGHT: BARBERA D’ALBA
COURSE: RACK OF LAMB WITH FAMILY STYLE ROASTED VEGETABLES
ALDO CONTERNTO 2012 BARBERA CONCA TRE PILE – Right, so this was the wine we accidentally opened and served in the flight above. I took one sip and was just blown away. This was quite literally my first take ever at Barbera D’Alba and it was a total epiphany. The last two times that ever happened to me were the first time I ever tried icewine and the first time I had an aged Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc. Deep purple color, rich plum and blackberry fruit, perfectly balanced. Drinking great.
LA SPINETTA 1999 BARBERA D’ALBA GALLINA – To put this wine in context, just before we all got to tasting it, Peter was just explaining to me how Barbera is meant to be drunk within 5 years or so. Sort of like the Italian version of Beaujolais. And then this mind-blowing wine does away with that theory! Rich and powerful yet sublime at the same time if at all possible, this has extremely rich red fruit flavor, particularly blackberry, but an incredibly smooth texture. Tannins are completely integrated to the point of non-existence. Raves went around the table for this one and an easy WOTN.
G.B. BURLOTTO 2015 BARBERA D’ALBA AVES – It’s sort of hard to distinguish the three youngest Barberas as they were so close to each other and admittedly following in the shadow of the 1999. This one seemed to disappoint a lot of people at the table. I think everyone was expecting more out of this. It has red fruit and nice texture and is obviously fresher but surprisingly not as potent as the 1999 or even the 2012 before it. It’s just sort of there.
LUCIANO SANDRONE 2016 BARBERA D’ALBA – This is more like it, very expressive in the red fruit. I get a touch of the tannins on this one for the first time in all the Barberas but they are smooth and nowhere near like what they are in the Barolos.
BRUNO GIACOSA 2017 BARBERA D’ALBA – The best of the three youngest Barberas, my comment to Peter is that this will become in the future what the 1999 is today. All the stuffings are there to accomplish it. Maybe not as expressive as the Sandrone above but superbly balanced. That settles it, I’ve got a Barbera d’Alba problem now.
Our course consisted of the most insanely perfectly done racks of lamb that Chris in particular raved over and rightly so. In fact, he seemed somewhat jealous as he declared that he cooks lamb all the time and can’t get it anywhere near as good as what we had. This led us to scheme to ask the chef to visit our table so that we could all pick his brain for his recipe secrets. Along with the lamb, we shared a couple of platters of roasted potatoes and rapini. This was perfect with the Barberas, extending their finish and bringing out a surprisingly high sweetness out of the wines. They all tasted almost liqueur like when paired with the lamb.
FOURTH FLIGHT: BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO
COURSE: BEET AND FETA SALAD
VAL DI SUGA 2008 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO – Classic Brunello with stewed red fruit compote and a touch of heat and spice. Interestingly, I’ve always considered Brunello to be a “heavy” wine compared to its much lighter Barolo counterpart but this seemed downright delicate coming right after the supremely rich Barberas.
FRESCOBALDI 2013 CASTELGIOCONODO BRUNELLO DI MONTACINO – Much riper red fruit compote flavors and I believe Bill and Peter mentioned that they were getting meat flavors. I started picking a bit of dried meat as well. think this is what drinkers refer to as classic ‘leather’ flavors in Brunello.
Our course was a large bowl salad of field greens with yellow and red beets topped with shredded feta and dressed in a mustard vinaigrette. I thought it was a bit too much when the bowls were served to us, but as soon as I started eating and drinking the Brunellos, I actually ended up wolfing down the plate. Then I looked around the table and saw that everyone else did too! The wines really become more saline with the salad and compliment it well almost as if they were part of the salad dressing itself.
