Dinner at Home with&nbsp;Le Macchiole

December 2006

This past fall my travel schedule took me to Tuscany rather
than Piedmont, which has been my more typical destination in late November.
Although I suffered from a severe case of truffle withdrawal in Chianti Classico
I did come home with several bottles of freshly-pressed olive oil, my
second-favorite food of the season. We started with very simple bruschetta
topped with the 2006 olive oil from Petrolo, a remarkable estate for the
exceptionally high quality of all its products. The Insalata Caprese provided
an illusion of summer warmth on an otherwise cold and drab New York winter
evening.

This informal dinner also provided a perfect opportunity to
check in on a few wines from Le Macchiole. Overall the 2000s gave the
impression of being slightly less elegant than the more refined 2001s. The
wines also appear to be entering the early part of their drinking windows
making 2000 an excellent vintage to enjoy while the 1999s and 2001s continue to
develop in the cellar. The 2000 Paleo
(70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc) was ripe, open and gorgeous on the
palate. Powerful and rich, it was a wonderful wine with which to start our
dinner even if it lacked the complexity of the best vintages. The 2000 Scrio (100% Syrah) took things to
another level. It presented plenty of super ripe dark fruit, chocolate and
toasted oak flavors along with its characteristic note of mint. With air more
advanced notes of leather, earthiness and animal made an appearance. The estate’s
2000 Messorio (100% Merlot) also
enjoyed a strong showing and provided much pleasure. Although some of the baby
fat has dropped off, it was still quite concentrated, yet the presence of early
tertiary earthy and leather notes suggest it too has arrived at the early part
of its drinking window.

I prepared a simple seared filet mignon with roasted
potatoes and sautéed mushrooms to accompany our flight of the estate’s stunning
2001s, a vintage that remains a benchmark for Le Macchiole. Although the 2001s
may benefit from additional cellaring they were drinking absolutely brilliantly
on this night. Stylistically they were also fresher and more vibrant, showing
greater refinement than the 2000s. The 2001
Paleo (100% Cabernet Franc) was simply off the charts. It opened with
gorgeous, well-delineated aromatics followed by heady notes of dark fruit,
menthol, spices, chocolate, minerals and toasted oak. Warm, ample and vibrant
on the palate, is showed tremendous length and plenty of Cabernet Franc
character with more nuance and finer tannins than the 2000. In top vintages the
estate’s Scrio makes a case for
itself as Italy’s finest Syrah. The 2001 was utterly irresistible. It presented
a seductive array of dark cherries, plums, mint, minerals and spices with extraordinary
length and purity of expression, closing with a long, resonating finish. Though
rich and concentrated it also came across as remarkably light on its feet.
Amazingly, the 2001 Messorio (100%
Merlot) reached an even higher level of profoundness. Blessed with a
super-finessed nose and layers of dark, jammy, plum, mineral and toasted oak
that slowly opened in the glass, it displayed extraordinary purity in its
ample, generous expression of Merlot from Bolgheri. It was a phenomenal wine in
every way. I was happy to savor a last glass alongside a plate of artisan
cheeses. 

Food: 

Bruschetta with Petrolo olive oil

Insalata Caprese

Seared filet mignon with sautéed mushrooms

Artisan cheeses

&nbsp;

Wine: 

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 2000
 </td>
 <td>
 Le Macchiole Paleo
 </td>
 <td>
 90
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2000
 </td>
 <td>
 Le Macchiole Scrio
 </td>
 <td>
 92
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2000
 </td>
 <td>
 Le Macchiole Messorio
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2001
 </td>
 <td>
 Le Macchiole Paleo
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2001
 </td>
 <td>
 Le Macchiole Scrio
 </td>
 <td>
 95
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2001
 </td>
 <td>
 Le Macchiole Messorio
 </td>
 <td>
 97</td></tr></tbody></table>

--Antonio Galloni

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