<a target="_blank" href="http://www.laclusaz.it/index.php/en/">La Clusaz</a>

SS27 del Gran San Bernardo km 12, 5,
11010

frazione La Clusaz 1 - Gignod, Italy

Tel: +39&nbsp;<a target="_blank">0165 56075</a>

The
food:

Valpellina soup (La seupa à la vapellenetze)

Fontina cheese fondue cooked on a wood
fire (Fonduta valdostana con polenta
cotta su fuoco a legna)

Small herb gnocchi with hazelnut butter
and finferli mushroom ragù (Gnocchetti
alle erbette, saltati al burro nocciola, ragù di finferli)

Venison, apple and mustard sauce, and
roast potato cubes (Tagliata di cervo,
salsa mele e senape, e cubetti di patate)

Cheese platter (La cerimonia dei formaggi)

The wines:

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 2014 Piero Brunet Blanc de Morgex et La Salle &nbsp;
 </td>
 <td>
 91
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2014 Les Granges Nus Malvosie
 </td>
 <td>
 90
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2013 Dider Gerbelle Neyret
 </td>
 <td>
 89
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2012
 Lo Triolet/Marco Martin Fumin
 </td>
 <td>
 90
 </td>
 </tr>
</tbody></table>

Although dinner is highly
atmospheric and downright romantic in the warm, very pretty, alpine-styled and
fireplace-warmed main dining room of La Clusaz, make sure you get there with
daylight. This is because driving along the Strada del Gran San Bernardo, which
takes you from Aosta into Switzerland (or viceversa) will have you looking at
some of Italy’s prettiest mountain scenery. And the drive will be that more
enjoyable with the knowledge that your final destination is one of Italy’s best
alpine dining destinations.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1456421842443-La+Clusaz+opposite.png"> The mountain view opposite&nbsp;La Clusaz&nbsp;Documents dating back to 1140 also attest to La
Clusaz being one of Italy’s oldest dining and watering holes, as travelers used
to eat and rest there for the night prior to taking to the road again in the
morning (and in fact La Clusaz is also a very charming hotel). Bought by
Graziano Grange in 1925,&nbsp;La Clusaz&nbsp;is now run with flair and passion by Maurizio
Grange and his family. I strongly suggest you listen to any recommendations
that Maurizio has on the day you might stop by. In my opinion, he is one of the
more passionate restauranteurs and hoteliers in all of Italy, dedicating
himself to sourcing hard to get wines from little known producers as well as outstanding
cheeses and other foodstuffs from local artisanal producers. A meal here is
like taking a course in Valle d’Aosta Enogastronomy 101.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1456421907253-La+Clusaz+outside.png"> La Clusaz is one of Italy's oldest dining destinations&nbsp;

My most recent dinner at La
Clusaz couldn’t have been any better. The seupa
à la vapellenetse is a food staple of the Valle d’Aosta, a highly
traditional and very hearty soup made with both white and dark bread, fontina
cheese, Savoy cabbage and vegetable broth, although a majority of people I have
talked to over the years also include a good dusting of cinnamon in their
recipe.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1456421972075-soup.jpg"> Valpellina soup (La seupa à la vapellenetze) Vapellenetse is the local
dialect for Valpelline, a town that is at the gateway of the eponymous valley,
located at roughly 960 meters a.s.l and the birthplace of this specific soup. The
version at La Clusaz is one of the two or three best renditions that I have
come across in the region. To&nbsp;put that statement in perspective, I have been going to the Valle d’Aosta two or more times a year for the
last twenty-five years of my life; it’s my favorite region in Italy.&nbsp;Cheese
fondue and polenta is another classic Valle d’Aosta recipe, and one I
personally never tire of; my only complaint is that portions are never large
enough! The rest of my dinner was a sequence of one precisely cooked, flavorful
dish after another, with the delicate and airy herb gnocchi the best dish of
the night.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1456422021014-beef.jpg"> Venison, apple and mustard sauce, and roast potato cubes (Tagliata di cervo, salsa mele e senape, e cubetti di patate) 

La Clusaz has a solid wine
list, with many good choices from both Italy and France, but when I come here I
always focus on the wines of the Valle d’Aosta, which, believe it or not, is also one
my favorite wine destinations in Italy. Clearly, not many of these wines are
available in the USA, but Vinous readers who visit or vacation in Italy might
like to look for these wines while dining in Italian restaurants for a totally
novel taste sensation. And though Valle d’Aosta wine production is a little
under the radar outside of Italy, it’s the only place in Italy that makes Chardonnays that are actually drinkable. Its Pinot Gris (unlike the rest of
Italy, the name used for both variety and wine is Pinot Gris, not Pinot Grigio,
a testimony of Valle d’Aosta’s strong French roots) are the best in Italy, and
there are a plethora of other outstanding wines made from little known but high
quality native grapes.&nbsp;I started dinner with one of Italy’s absolutely
best aperitif wines: the 2014 Piero
Brunet Blanc de Morgex et La Salle, though nearly impossible to find unless
you are in the area, is made from some of the valley’s very best vineyards of
Prié Blanc. Back in the 1960s and 70s, it is these vines that the Abbé Bougeat
farmed to make his extremely famous wine; it essentially made Blanc de Morgex
et La Salle’s fame. Brunet’s version is riper than most, with bright mountain
flower nuances complicating ripe apricot, pear and thyme aromas and flavors.
The 2014 Les Granges Nus Malvosie is
almost as tasty: readers beware that Malvosie is the name used for Pinot Gris
in and around the town of Nus, where it has had a long and distinguished
history. This wine is brighter and fruitier than most (Nus Malvosie usually has
a very savory and herbal quality to it). Next up is an absolute rarity, and the
only monovariety Neyret (a distinct variety from all the other Neyret-something
varieties found in Italy) wine available commercially in Italy. A very deep red, the&nbsp;2013 Dider Gerbelle Neyret&nbsp;is a surprisingly tannic, brooding wine hinting at small dark berries
and balsamic nuances that will require some cellaring prior to reveal all it
has to offer. Last but not least, the 2012
Lo Triolet/Marco Martin Fumin only confirms that Marco Martin is one of
Italy’s 20 or 30 most talented wine producers. This Fumin is a benchmark,
loaded with herbal and licorice notes complementing small dark berry and black
pepper aromas and flavors.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1456422105386-wines.jpg"> 

Walking out the door after my
comfortable and informative meal, it suddenly dawned on me I hadn’t been to La
Clusaz for almost a year. Immediately resolved to never allow a similarly
long time frame to elapse between visits.

--Ian D'Agata

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