Bellavitae [Closed]

24 Minetta Lane

New York City, NY
10012

tel (212) 473-5121

August 2007

Bellavitae has become one of my favorite informal places to
eat in New York. Located in the West Village, Bellavitae serves simple,
homestyle cuisine with an emphasis on using the finest raw materials. The
clean, well-articulated flavors are especially well suited to wine, which must
be why my friends and I tend to go through a large number of bottles here. The
wine list is well-chosen. While the icon wines can be on the expensive side
there are also plenty of well-priced wines, including the Riservas from
Produttori del Barbaresco. Highlights from the menu include the fresh bufala
mozzarella and the paccheri with lamb ragu. I also love the grilled tuna steak
with capers from the island of Salina and the delicate grilled lamb chops. I
almost always order the same dishes, so this article covers wines from several
recent dinners.

Bruno Giacosa’s 2003
Barbera d’Alba Falletto is a wine I have adored since I first tasted it
from barrel a few years ago. Our bottles were terrific. The wine has naturally
lost some of the vibrancy of the fruit it showed a few years ago but in the
process it has acquired a lovely silkiness to its tannins. Giacosa’s 1998 Barbaresco Santo Stefano Riserva was a revelation.
We caught this wine at the beginning of what will likely turn out to be a long
and rewarding drinking window. The wine blossomed from the glass with a
captivating array of macerated cherries, flowers, spices and menthol. It was
sweet, long and enveloping on the palate, all while maintaining the inner
tension which will allow it to age gracefully for many years to come.
Unfortunately Roberto Voerzio’s 1996
Barolo Brunate did not enjoy a strong showing. When first opened it
revealed an intense and promising core of blackberry jam and cassis, but then
the wine quickly shut down never to re-emerge. Vietti’s 2001 Barolo Rocche was a model of gracefulness and
elegance. It offered expressive aromatics and layered fruit, with silky tannins
and a surprisingly approachable personality at this stage. The next two wines
were served blind. Giacomo Conterno’s
1999 Barolo Cascina Francia was instantly recognizable by its signature
aromatics, yet this bottle was so fresh I thought it was the 2001. The wine was
gorgeously delineated and pure, with plenty of fruit supported by elegant yet
firm tannins. It gave the impression of still being a wine that is holding back
much of its power and ultimate potential. This was a great showing for the 1999
Cascina Francia. Fortunately I redeemed myself with the 2001 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo, which was a pretty easy
wine to pick out. The Montepulciano nose and flavor profile were dead
giveaways. This was another wine that showed beautifully and more than held its
own with the other bottles on the table. We went through four or five bottles
of Produttori del Barbaresco’s 2001
Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà. My task was to perform quality control, and of
course I dutifully obliged. Every bottle was spectacular and merited more than
my original score of 92 points. The wine showed all the classic
Rabajà notes in its balsamic, spiced bouquet and sweet dark fruit, with notable
power as well as finesse. I was surprised by how open and just plain enjoyable
this Barbaresco was. The Produttori’s
1996 Barbaresco Riserva Pajè didn’t have enough aeration to show what it is
capable of, yet even the small glimpse we got of this wine was fantastic. Still
tightly coiled, it gradually opened to reveal focused layers of spiced fruit
struggling to emerge from under the wine’s tannic weight. The Pajè came across
as quite fresh and vibrant. Those lucky enough to own it are in for a treat,
and this bottle, which was sourced directly from the estate, was a gem. Its
sweetness and class lingered long after the wine was finished.

Food:

Crostini

Mozzarella di bufala and prosciutto

Paccheri with lamb ragu

Grilled tuna with Salina capers

Grilled rack of lamb

Wine: 

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 2003
 </td>
 <td>
 Bruno Giacosa Barbera d’Alba Falletto
 </td>
 <td>
 92
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1998
 </td>
 <td>
 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano
 </td>
 <td>
 96
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1996
 </td>
 <td>
 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Brunate
 </td>
 <td>
 90?
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2001
 </td>
 <td>
 Vietti Barolo Rocche
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1999
 </td>
 <td>
 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2001
 </td>
 <td>
 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo
 </td>
 <td>
 92
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2001
 </td>
 <td>
 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Rabajà
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1996
 </td>
 <td>
 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pajè
 </td>
 <td>
 92</td></tr></tbody></table>

--Antonio Galloni

&nbsp;

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social