A Holiday Lunch

December 2006

This Christmas morning started out somewhat unusually. It
was a bright, sunny day so I decided to go out for a run with my son. While the
sight of mothers and fathers jogging with their babies in strollers may be a
common sight in Central Park, it is apparently anything but that in the small
Friuli town of San Lorenzo Isontino, judging by the many bewildered stares I
received. Back home we started lunch with smoked salmon crostini and a festive
3-liter bottle of Bruno Giacosa’s 2003
Spumante Extra Brut. It presented attractive notes of flowers and white
peaches with excellent length and a slightly weightier personality than is
normally the case, no doubt owing to the heat of the vintage. The 3-liter
format seems to have helped keep this wine surprisingly fresh.

It is always a treat to eat my sister-in-law’s cooking, all
she asks is for a few good bottles of Barolo, a trade that I will take any
time. Her spinach-filled tortelli topped with butter and sage were sublime.
Aldo Conterno’s 1995 Barolo Riserva Granbussia
displayed delicately perfumed aromatics along with attractive notes of black
cherries, prunes, tobacco, cocoa, cedar and leather with a medium-bodied,
slightly compact frame that is typical of this vintage. It showed enough
underlying structure to make me think it will drink well for at least another
five to seven years although it will never rival the best vintages of this
wine. 

The mushroom-filled tortelli that followed were even more
delicious. There is simply nothing better than homemade pasta. Massolino’s 1995 Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda presented
a livelier color than the Granbussia, with more overall freshness in its fruit,
along with suggestions of beef bouillon, leather and the distinct note of iron
that is often present in Serralunga Barolos. Despite those admirable qualities
it was less complex than the Granbussia in its overall balance. Giuseppe
Mascarello’s 1995 Barolo Riserva Ca’ d’
Morissio was stunning. A bright dark red, it was by far the youngest of
these three 1995 Barolos, and is easily one of the two or three least-evolved
wines of the vintage. It presented notes of flowers, spices, red fruits and
minerals, all considered to be hallmarks of the Monprivato vineyard, but with
more intensity and power, showing an attractive sweetness and fullness on the
palate, great length and plenty of structure. It was the unanimous favorite
among these 1995s, the only problem is that it was opened a decade or two too
soon. I can only recommend patience to those fortunate enough to own one of the
1,700 bottles made in this vintage. 

I had been looking forward to the roasted pork for several
days and I was not disappointed. Moist, fully-flavored and just plain
delicious, it was a succulent main course suitable for the occasion.
Unfortunately the Pianpolvere Soprano
1999 Barolo Bussia was corked, but we had better luck with a stunning
bottle of Domenico Clerico’s 1999 Barolo
Ciabot Mentin Ginestra. 1999 remains an underappreciated vintage and it is
one Clerico’s finest. The Ciabot was simply phenomenal. It offered an exotic
array of ripe fruit, menthol, toasted oak and mineral notes with superb
concentration on the palate and plenty of style. It remains a fresh, vibrant
and structured Barolo in need of at least several years of cellaring, but it
nevertheless provided much pleasure on this day. While others moved into cheese
and dessert, I was quite content to relax by the fireplace with a glass of this
very fine Barolo. 

Food: 

Smoked salmon crostini

Tortelli filled with spinach

Tortelli filled with mushrooms

Oven-roasted suckling pig with crispy rosemary-scented
potatoes

&nbsp;

Wine: 

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 2003
 </td>
 <td>
 Bruno Giacosa Spumante Extra Brut (3-liter)
 </td>
 <td>
 89
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1995
 </td>
 <td>
 Aldo Conterno Barolo Riserva Granbussia
 </td>
 <td>
 91
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1995
 </td>
 <td>
 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda
 </td>
 <td>
 90
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1995
 </td>
 <td>
 G. Mascarello Barolo Riserva Ca’ d’Morissio
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1999
 </td>
 <td>
 Pianpolvere Soprano Barolo Bussia
 </td>
 <td>
 ?
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1999
 </td>
 <td>
 Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra
 </td>
 <td>
 96</td></tr></tbody></table>

--Antonio Galloni

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