Dinner with Friends

November 2007

The highlight of this evening was a massive white truffle
sourced from one of New York’s finest restaurants. Its very presence could be
sensed by the profound aromatics that wafted throughout the dining room as we
indulged in a delicious antipasto of meats, cheeses and roasted vegetables.
When the homemade fettucini with white truffles arrived the table fell silent
in appreciation of this splendidly rendered version of a timeless classic. I
took great pleasure watching my 16-month old son eat truffle shavings off my
plate. We followed the pasta with perfectly fried eggs topped with a second
generous portion of truffles. If there is another better pairing for truffles I
have yet to discover it. Both truffle dishes were of course magical with the
wines.

I had never tasted Bruno
Giacosa’s 1964 Barolo Riserva Speciale. It was a very beautiful, delicate
Barolo with pretty notes of mint, anise, licorice and beef bouillon. It showed
greater structure and power than the Bartolo Mascarello that followed.
Unfortunately this wine was never better than when it was first opened. With
time it lost some of its freshness and sheer sexiness. Bartolo Mascarello’s 1964 Barolo (1.9 liter magnum) was the exact
opposite. Initially quite funky and rustic, it needed several hours of air to
open up. When it did, it was a fantastic wine that captured the essence of this
warm vintage in its ripe fruit and generous, enveloping personality. The 1964
is not one of the most complex or profound Mascarello Barolos, but this bottle
provided plenty of enjoyment. With the large format, there was more than enough
for everyone to taste the wine over the course of the night. Mastroberardino’s 1968 Taurasi Riserva
Castelfranci was magnificent. Still deeply-colored, it offered a compelling
array of caramel, spices, roasted coffee beans and layered, concentrated dark
fruit. At nearly 40 years of age this remarkable wine still appeared to have
another two decades of life ahead of it. This was an awesome showing by one of
Italy’s legendary wines. Francesco
Rinaldi’s 1945 Barolo was another revelation. Tasted from an exceptionally
well-stored bottle, it revealed a ripe core of fruit with plenty of structure
and power in reserve. It was another wine that appeared incredibly youthful
considering its age. What can I say about Jacques
Selosse’s NV Rosé? That it was superb? Phenomenal? Sublime? It was all that
and so much more. An inspired choice to close this wonderful evening, the wine
revealed compelling, seductive aromatics that melded seamlessly onto a palate
of well-articulated fruit, with phenomenal length and a finish that lasted
forever. This beautifully-balanced Champagne was the highlight of an incredible
night.

Food:

Antipasto

Homemade fettucini with white truffles

Fried egg with white truffles

Wine:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 1964
 </td>
 <td>
 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Speciale
 </td>
 <td>
 92
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1964
 </td>
 <td>
 Cantina (Bartolo) Mascarello Barolo (1.9 liter magnum)
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1968
 </td>
 <td>
 Mastroberardino Taurasi Riserva Castelfranci
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1945
 </td>
 <td>
 Francesco Rinaldi Barolo
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 N.V.
 </td>
 <td>
 Jacques Selosse Rosé
 </td>
 <td>
 95</td></tr></tbody></table>

--Antonio Galloni

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