Thanks to the kindness of friends, since the beginning of the New Year I have been able to drink a number of older Italian wines and one French wine paired with excellent food.
Barolo 1979 Marcarini made from 100% Nebbiolo. This wine was made when legendary Elvio Cogno was the winemaker. Some of the best classic traditional wines that it has been my pleasure to drink were produced by Cogno. When I visited the Marcarini winery in 1985, I spoke with him and he said he made a better Barolo in 1979 than in 1978! This is a classic Barolo with flavors and aromas of faded roses, licorice, tar, tobacco, a hint of cherry and a slight touch of white truffles.
We had it with Braised Black Lentils with Cotechino. This is a classic dish to celebrate the New Year in Italy. Cotechino is a delicately spiced pork sausage encased in pork skin which gives it a rich flavor and creamy texture unlike other sausages.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 1985 Emidio Pepe 100% Montepulciano D’Abruzzo. The winery is organic and Bio-Dynamic. They belong to the Triple “A” Agriculture Artisans Artists. Both the tendone method and the cordon spur method are used for training the vines. In vintages when the weather is very hot the tendone method is better because the leaves form a canopy to protect the grapes from the sun. When the weather is not too hot, the cordon spur is better because it allows more sun and air to reach the grapes. One hectare of tendone has 900 vines and produces 90 quintals of grapes. That means that each vine produces from 6 to 9 kilos of grapes. In one hectare of cordon spur trained grapes there are 3,300 vines and each vine produces 5 to 6 kilos of grapes. The grapes are crushed by hand and the juice placed in glass-lined cement tanks of 20/25 liters. Only natural yeasts are used, there is no filtration or fining. The wine is transferred to the bottle by hand and the corks are placed in the bottles by hand. This is a a great wine with deep red fruit aromas and flavors with hints of cherry, spice, leather a touch of tobacco and a trace of smoke. We drank it with 
Bucatini all’ Amatriciana. A classic from Rome and Abruzzo, thick strands of bucatini pasta are sauced with rich tomato sauce made with guanciale, sharp pecorino cheese and a hint of chile.
Burgundy 2002 Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru (On the Cote de Beaune) Robert Ampeau & Fils made from 100% Chardonnay. 2002 was a great vintage in Burgundy. This is old style Burgundy. The wine are aged for years in the cellars before release. This not only gives them incredible complexity but makes them ready to drink on release. There is natural ground cover in the vineyard. In the winery there is a minimal use of new oak. The fermenters are concrete which gives the wine a certain depth and purity. This is a complex rich wine with hints of white peach, pineapple, baked apple, creme brûlée, honey. citrus and a touch of almonds. A very impressive white wine.
I had it with grilled jumbo shrimp served on a bed of spinach and white beans flavored with garlic. Simple and delicious.
Barolo Antico 1996 Giacomo Borgogno This Barolo in made with Nebbiolo grapes from the vineyard identified in the local land registry as parcel number 81 of the ninth sheet of the Commune of Barolo. This vineyard, part of the Liste area, was the first one acquired by the house of Borgogno whose origin dates back to 1761. It is a particular sunny site and thanks to its own special microclimate the fruit is the last to be picked every year. This selection is made only in truly great vintages is produced in strictly limited quantities (around 4,00 bottles). For this presentation the winery went back to the historic label which was in used during the second half of the 17th century. This bottle is #3,320. Classic Barolo with hints of of dark fruit, cherry, licorice and touch a spice and a note of roses.
We had it with roasted pork loin, green beans, red cabbage and roast potatoes.
Barbaresco “Ovello” 1996 Produttori del Barbaresco made from 100% Nebbiolo. The Ovello vineyard covers an area of 16.25 acres at 290 meters with a south/southeastern exposure. The 1996 Ovello Riserva, has on the label the name of the single vineyard, the number of bottles produced (18,145) and the names of the vineyard owners: Cravanzola, Gonella, Maffei, Vacca, Varaldo. The wine was aged in large barrels of Slavonic oak for four years. It has hints of black raspberries, cherries, leather, tea and a touch of spice. It was showing very well and will age for a number of years. .Produttori del Barbaresco is a wine cooperative, arguably the best in Italy. This is traditional classic Barbaresco at its best.
We had it with sweet and hot Italian sausages roasted with peppers, potatoes and onions,
Barolo 1967 Oddero made from 100% Nebbiolo. This wine was drinking very well and despite its age, it seemed like a much younger wine. It had hints of red fruit, cherry, a note of spice and a touch or tobacco.
We had this with Chinese food including Stir fried chicken with cashew nuts and green peppers
Two days later we opened another bottle of the 1967 and it was not drinkable.
Barolo “ Marcenasco” 1970 Ratti. Antica Cantina Della Abbazia dell’ Annunziata. Marcenasco is a historic sub-zone in La Morra. The wine was aged in large oak casks of 2,500 liters to 5,000 liters, It has hints of spice, licorice, tobacco and dried herbs. It was drinkable but really showing its age.
We had it with cheese. On the left is a wedge of 4 year old Red Cow Parmigiano-Reggiano, the center piece is a 2-year old Brown Cow Parmigiano-Reggiano and the wedge on the right is a young pecorino Toscano.
Barolo 1964 Calissano Riserva Speciale the wine had hints of mushrooms, tea, sage, and herbs. Unfortunately the winery no longer exists.
We had it with our starter of fried pork dumplings at a Chinese restaurant and it went very well.
Chinese fried pork dumplings
Marsala Vergine Secco Riserva “Terre Arse” 1998 Florio made from 100% Grillo. The soil is arid, scarcely fertile of siliceous-calcareous origin. Vineyards facing the sea near the beach with typical Marsala bush-trained vines with density of at least 5,000 plants per hectare. Harvest is by hand, advanced ripening, during the last week of September. Pressing of the grapes with a high sugar content to pass the precious substances found in the skins to the must. Fermentation at controlled temperature and blend of the resulting wine with wine distillate according to the Marsala Vergine tradition (Fortified Wine). The wine is aged for at least 10 years in ancient oak barrels and at least two years in bottle before release. This is a dry balanced wine with hints of bitter almonds, burnt honey, a touch of caramel and a hint of licorice. This is a very impressive wine with a finish that goes on and on.
We had it with panettone and it was the perfect combination.
Meursault-Perrieres 2010 Premier Cru Jean Latour Labille &Fils made from 100% Chardonnay from a .175-hectare parcel planted in 1964. Fermentation and aging are in barrels, 50% new for 12 months then 4 months of additional aging in tank. This is a complex wine with hints of citrus fruit, melon, pear, a touch of honey and a note of brioche. I visited the winery in 2019 and really enjoyed all their wines.
We had a few little Appetizers to go with the wine. Some Castelvetrano olives, a mushroom pate from Michele’s book, 
Irpinia Aglianico 2016 “Memini” Az. Ag. Guastaferro made from 100% Aglianico. This wine bursts with sweet ripe fruit flavors of cherry, raspberry, strawberry and pomegranate. It has a wonderful fruit filled finish and a very long aftertaste. It was a very interesting Aglianico and I have never tasted one like this before. Daniele Cernilli (aka Doctor Wine) in his book The Essential Guide to Italian Wine 2020 states: “In 2002 Raffaele Guastaferro inherited 10 hectares from his grandfather with over 100 year old vines trained using the old starseto (pergola Avellinese) method…creating a very interesting style for the wines that were also based on tradition.”
Pasta Amatrciana, my favorite with bucatini.
On the plate, messy but so good.
Montepulciano D’ Abruzzo 1985 Emidio Pepe100% Montepulciano D’Abruzzo. The winery is organic and Bio-Dynamic. They belong to the Triple “A” Agriculture Artisans Artists. Both the tendone method and the cordon spur method are used for training the vines. In vintages when the weather is very hot the tendone method is better because the leaves form a canopy to protect the grapes from the sun. When the weather is not too hot, the cordon spur is better because it allows more sun and air to reach the grapes. One hectare of tendone has 900 vines and produces 90 quintals of grapes. That means that each vine produces from 6 to 9 kilos of grapes. In one hectare of cordon spur trained grapes, there are 3,300 vines and each vine produces 5 to 6 kilos of grapes. The grapes are crushed by hand and the juice placed in glass-lined cement tanks of 20/25 liters. Only natural yeasts are used, there is no filtration or fining. The wine is transferred to the bottle by hand and the corks are placed in the bottles by hand. This is a very impressive wine with deep red fruit aromas and flavors with hints of cherry, spice and leather.
Fried lamb chops, also from Michele’s book. The chops are coated with eggs, Parmigiano Reggiano and plain dry breadcrumbs. Here she used panko, which fries up nice and crunchy. Sorry for the photo, but we all grabbed some chops and started to eat before I could get a better shot!
Dante’s Cheesecake is Michele’s version of a ricotta cheesecake that we used to enjoy at a favorite Greenwich Village Cafe.
