Locanda Verde

377 Greenwich St,

New York, NY 10013-2338

Tel: (212) 925-3797

This was my first dinner at Locanda Verde, Andrew Carmellini’s new restaurant in Tribeca. Even on a Monday night, the place was jam-packed. Once I tasted the food, it was easy to see why. Carmellini offers up generous doses of rustic, home-style cooking at reasonable prices in a casual, fun setting. What’s not to like? The crostini and pastas are particularly of note, so Locanda Verde is not the place for those on a carb-restricted diet. The lamb sliders, gigantone with Sunday night ragu, pappardelle with lamb Bolognese and the dry-aged ribeye are all dishes I would eat again in a heartbeat.

Wine Director Josh Nadel has put together one of the most adventurous and compelling Italian wine lists in New York, with plenty of typically hard-to-find wines that will please even the most demanding of palates. We mostly drank wines from our own cellars, but I found no shortage of superb, interesting wines on the list.

A flight of wines from Bruno Giacosa was the highlight on this night, even with two subpar Barolos thrown in. My favorite wine was the 1971 Barolo Collina Rionda, the last bottle from a perfect parcel I bought a few years ago. It was fresh, vibrant, powerful and totally seductive in a style that recalled the legendary 1978. What a great bottle! Not far behind was Giacosa’s elusive 1961 Barbaresco Riserva, by far his hardest wine to find today. This was a beautiful example, with layers of perfumed red fruit and fabulous overall balance. The Barolo Riserva Bussia, Giacosa’s most feminine, delicate wine from the monumental 1978 harvest, impressed for its silky tannins and graceful personality. It was a beauty. The 1979 Barolo Riserva Bussia had tons of fruit, but it was the victim of less than perfect provenance, as was the 1970 Barolo Collina Rionda.

I have given up on buying older Monfortinos, as finding well-stored bottles from the 1950s and 1960s is a futile and costly exercise that almost always leads to disappointment. I was gently chided for bringing the 1982 Monfortino, and while it was by far the youngest wine in this flight, it was also the most sound! The 1961 was very beautiful in a Burgundian way. The 1945, 1952 and 1955 were all undrinkable, only because of the abuse they had received at some point during their lives. It is truly heartbreaking to consider how poorly these wines must have been treated.

Two wines from Gaja were beautiful. The 1967 Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo – in its first vintage – was immensely pleasing. Crushed berries, dried flowers and spices were just some of the nuances that emerged from this rich Barbaresco. Some rough edges remained, but the 1967 clearly foreshadowed the direction Angelo Gaja would take with his wines in the 1970s and 1980s. This was a perfect bottle. I consider the 1971 to be one of the greatest Sorì San Lorenzos ever made. This bottle was a revelation because it was delicious notwithstanding having been mistreated somewhere along the way. When it is on, the 1971 Sorì San Lorenzos is an utterly profound, breathtaking wine of the very highest level. On this night it was merely outstanding.

These three Champagnes were delicious. The 1949 Ruinart was in great shape and wonderfully expressive. The 1959 Clos des Goisses conquered the palate and the intellect with generous, expansive fruit and its muscular personality. The Goisses continued to grow in the glass, showing more and more depth with each taste. It was jaw-droppingly beautiful. The 1961 Cristal was also fabulous. Its signature finesse and understatement were in full evidence from the get-go. This beautiful, sublime Champagne provided the perfect finish to a great night of food and wine. 

Food:

Blue Crab with jalapeno and tomato crostini