Rajo Olive Trees and Oil March 20, 2009

The Rajo Olive is an autoctonous variety of Olive that grows only in the Amerino region. It has been described by those in the know as the best type for making true Extra Virgin Oil.  The flavour is  nutty flavour and is not too spiced or hot as some of the varieties found in Lucca Tuscany, also a great Olive Oil region.  In blind tastes the Rajo variety has won the highest accolade for a flavorsome olive oil that tastes of Olive’s but is nutty with a right balance of pepper.  We have about 200 trees of Rajo, and although this sounds alot, they are very old trees, some over 200 years old!  The do not produce much, but they do produce is always of such a high quality that it is bought up immediately by those in the know, as well as used for local consumption.  Unfortunately there are very few of these trees left.  A few years back, one of the mantra’s of the Agricultural producers was that they should produce volume.  One of the “Agraria” department heads in Perugia University, who shall remain un-named, had the brilliant idea to suggest this to many Rajo Olive tree agricultural concerns in the Amerino region, with the result that many Rajo trees were cut down and the Ascolana Olive was planted instead, a big fat Olive.  The theory was that these trees would produce so much more than the small stingy Olives that the Rajo trees produce, that they would pay for themselves.

Unfortunately a black “olive fly” attacked most of the big Ascolane Olives in the Amerino, destroying much of the crop.  The Rajo plants are not attacked by this fly having adapted to the local conditions over centuries. So in the end those who did cut their Rajo trees down had a big producing bad quality olive tree variety that was attacked and eaten by black flies.  Those who stuck with the Rajo, (very few unfortunately) still have their high quality Olive Oil, but it is so in demand that it is almost impossible to find except by booking one year in advance.  A sad story about how intensive agriculture.

Great Wines from Umbria: Sagrantino di Montefalco March 11, 2009

Sagrantino di Montefalco
… and a great new wine bar in Rome
Article and photos © 2003 by Tom Hyland 

Roberta Vitali, Proprietor, Rocca di Fabbri Winery, Montefalco

Thoughts on some of Umbria’s unusual reds and a great new wine bar in Rome … 

Umbria has become one of my favorite regions in Italy for many reasons. The climate in this central part of the country is beneficial to farmers, meaning there is a bounty of wonderful foods, from the best lentils in Italy to incredibly tender and flavorful pork and of course, the famous white and black truffles known as tartufi.

The wines are quite distinctive as well, as international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are creating a new identity for a region known historically for Orvieto, a delicate white wine made dry or slightly sweet. But there is an indigenous grape that I believe makes Umbria’s most distinctive wines.

That grape is Sagrantino, grown in the village of Montefalco and several surrounding towns, located in eastern-central Umbria, about halfway between Spoleto and Assisi. There are a dozen or so producers that work with this grape, with only about 250 acres planted in total.

While the origins of this grape are unclear, one fact about the grape is that it is one of the most tannic varieties found anywhere in the world. This can be a problem of course when it comes to overall balance, but the district’s finest producers are taming the tannins, making it an elegant wine that has the potential to age for more than a decade.

The premier wine here is Sagrantino di Montefalco, a DOCG wine that must be made from 100 percent Sagrantino. A more subdued wine that is released at an earlier date is Montefalco Rosso (DOC). This blend is typically about 65-70 percent Sangiovese and about 10-15 percent Sagrantino, with the remainder being Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, though some winemakers also use Colorino in their cuvee. Expect to pay about $12-18 for a Montefalco Rosso in the U.S. market, with a Sagrantino di Montefalco costing about $25-35 per bottle.

One other wine is made from the Sagrantino grape and it is a beauty! This is the Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito (also DOCG), made from partially dried grapes. Think of this as a port with its slight raisiny character, but without the high alcohol (most are in the 14.5-15.5 percent range). The best examples have a delicious blackberry jam quality to them and are rich and ripe with medium sweetness, but not cloying or heavy. This is an exotic wine and is quite a treat, especially paired with chocolate or a plum or blackberry tart.

Here are notes on the wines I tried on my recent visit to Montefalco.

SCACCIADIAVOLI

One of the area’s smallest producers, the wines here are elegant and well balanced, if a bit light. The name in Italian, by the way, means “devil hunters.”

2001 MONTEFALCO ROSSO
Deep garnet-light ruby red with an aroma of cherry, plum and a hint of sage. Medium body with good concentration. Round, elegant finish with soft tannins and balanced acidity. Enjoy over the 12-15 months. **

1999 SAGRANTINO DI MONTEFALCO
Deep ruby red-light purple with an aroma of black cherry, violets, dates and a hint of violets. Medium-full with very good concentration. Satisfying finish with persistent fruit, tart acidity and a hint of chocolate, though the tannins are a bit sharp. Enjoy over the next 3- 5years. ***

ROCCA DI FABBRI

Established in 1984, this handsome estate is run by Roberta Vitali. While the wines here are well made, they are rather safe. I would like to see more complexity and depth of fruit. A move in that direction could make this very good estate a great one.

2001 MONTEFALCO ROSSO
Ruby red with a hint of purple. Cranberry and herbal tea aromas with a touch of plum. Soft tannins and balanced acidity combine to make this a delicious Rosso for drinking now and over the next 1-2 years. ***

1999 SAGRANTINO DI MONTEFALCO
Deep ruby red with an aroma of cherry, licorice and a hint of mint. Medium-full with moderate tannins and balanced acidity, this is well-made, but lacks the intensity of the best examples from the wonderful 1999 vintage. Enjoy over the next 3-5 years. ***

1999 SAGRANTINO DI MONTEFALCO PASSITO
Deep ruby red-light purple. Raspberry and licorice aromas. Medium bodied, this is round with a delicate sweetness and balanced acidity. Enjoy over the next 3-5 years. ***

ADANTI

I was only able to taste one wine from this estate, but it is excellent! Run by the Adanti family, the winery is located in the ancient Roman town of Bevagna. Though a tiny hamlet, this is a must see, especially for its 8th century church.

2001 MONTEFALCO ROSSO
Bright ruby red with an aroma of black cherry, a hint of plum and oak. Medium-full with good weight on the palate, this is suprisingly big and flavorful for this wine type. Quite elegant and a lovely food wine, this is about as good as Sagrantino Rosso gets! Drinkable now and over the next 2-3 years. ****

ANTONELLI

My favorite producer – and arguably the area’s finest – is Antonelli. The estate is run by the personable Filippo Antonelli and the wines here have wonderful spice to go along with the excellent depth of fruit. His 1999 reds were outstanding and the new 2001s may be even better. The 2000s, from a very good but not great vintage, are excellent. A wonderful dry white made from the Grechetto grape is first-rate and his 1998 Sagrantino di Montefalco Grappa Riserva is outstanding! (Reviews of these products appear in the new August-September issue of my newsletter, Guide to Italian Wines.)

2000 MONTEFALCO ROSSO
Bright ruby red with an aroma of black cherry, sage and cedar. Medium-full with moderate tannins and lively acidity. Nicely balanced, drink this over the next 2 years. ***

2000 MONTEFALCO ROSSO RISERVA
Antonelli is one of the few producers to make a Montefalco Rosso Riserva. The wine contains a slightly higher percentage of Sagrantino in the blend and spends a bit more time in big oak barrels as well as medium-sized ones known as tonneau. Bright ruby red with an aroma of cherry, sage, oregano, cedar and oak. Medium-full with very good depth of fruit. Nicely balanced with moderate tannins, lively acidity and nicely integrated oak. Drink now and over the next 2-3 years. ****

2000 SAGRANTINO DI MONTEFALCO
Deep ruby red with a hint of purple. Black cherry, licorice, menthol and black mint aromas. Medium-full with very good depth of fruit. Big tannins and a bit astringent now, there is lively acidity. Time will help round out this well made wine – best in 3-5 years.***

2001 SAGRANTINO DI MONTEFALCO
Barrel sample, a full review appears in my newsletter. Excellent (4 star) potential.

2000 SAGRANTINO DI MONTEFALCO PASSITO
Bright ruby red-light purple. Plum and black raspberry aromas. Medium-full with very good concentration. Rich and ripe, this is medium sweet with a nice spiciness and earthiness. This will be at its best in 3-5 years, though I would not be surprised to see it drink well for another few years beyond that. ****

***** Outstanding
**** Excellent
*** Very Good
** GoodIl Vineto

Most of my trips to Italy are spent in wine regions, but this past visit, I got to spend a bit of time in Rome. I was glad I did as I discovered a wonderful wine bar that is a must for lovers of Italian wine. Il Vineto is centrally located on the Via Veneto, just a few steps from several of Rome’s best known hotels (Hotel Imperiale, Hotel Alexandre).

The wine bar is owned and run by Ariano Ferdinando, who bills himself as “head sommelier.” There are about ten white and ten red wines available by the glass at all times and they range from Elena Walch Gewurztraminer from Alto Adige (€9 per glass) to the famous “Flaccianello Della Pieve” from Fontodi in Chianti Classico (€16 by the glass).

But an added bonus here is that there are more than 1000 wines available for sale, either to be consumed with food at the wine bar or to take away. Unlike many wine bars or enotecas in Italy, this establishment features wines from every region in Italy. While there are wines from the length and breadth of the country, the selections from Piemonte, Tuscany, Friuli, Lazio and Sardinia are especially impressive.

As you look at the wines that are on display here, you will discover the offerings of many small producers that are hard to find, even in Italy. Prices listed are for retail sale to take away; if you choose to buy the wine and enjoy it with food at the wine bar, expect to pay another 50 percent. While this may seem high, these prices are still better than most local restaurants; remember you are in Rome!

The food is quite good and ranges from several types of bruschetta to capers stuffed with prawns to roast salmon and fresh mozzarella. Whatever you decide on for food, you certainly won’t have a problem finding a wine to go with it. Whether you prefer a crisp white such as Falanghina from Campania or a traditional red such as Chianti Classico (or even French wine such as Champagne or Sauternes), Il Vineto will be heaven for you!

Il Vineto
Via Veneto 6, Rome
Tel: 06 06 486617

Umbrian Feast! March 11, 2009

 

Great Fresh Food, excellent Sagrantino Wine

Umbria’s Black Truffle March 11, 2009

 

A delight for all truffle lovers.... pasta with truffles and Umbrian Rajo Oil

Umbria’s Food: Good Olive Oil; Truffles; Fresh Vegetables; Great Wine March 11, 2009

Umbria Food and Recipes

Umbria is one of the smallest regions of Italy and the real green heart at its centre. The countryside and towns are still unspoiled and peaceful looking like they did hundreds of years ago. The Umbrian cuisine is based on family traditions with fresh and natural flavors derived from locally grown produce and farmed animals.

There are of course the typical Italian pasta dishes utilizing strascinati and umbrici, both long thick spaghetti, and ciriole ternana. These are all prepared and served with a dressing of olive oil, garlic and some chilli pepper.

In Umbria, pasta is often flavored with a grating of local black truffles found around Norcia. But most local restaurants now serve the black truffles sliced on a plain risotto richly dressed with butter and Parmesan, a dish borrowed from Lombardy recipes.

The prized black Norcia truffle is gathered from around the trunks of oak, holm oak and walnut trees in the hills and mountains around Norcia and Spoleto. Covered by a black skin with small wart-like bumps, the truffle has a purple-black flesh with distinctive white veins and a delicate scent. Unlike white truffles, which can only be eaten raw, black truffles can be heated (but never boiled) and added to sauces, pasta and pies without losing their delicious flavour.

Lentils of Castelluccio are small and green, they contain a large amount of protein and mineral salts, and are so tender that they require no soaking.These are used in meat stews with sausage, rabbit and other meats.

As in the rest of Italy, bread is an important part of the diet and comes in all varieties. Examples are pan nociato, a specialty made with pecorino cheese, walnuts and pine nuts, and the local torta al testo con i ciccioli, a typical focaccia bread baked on a stone disk and stuffed with the little pieces of pork obtained when melting the fat to make lard

There is also the famous Perugia chocolate which comes from the capital of the region.

The Priest’s Veal Chops
Serves 4
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
4 veal cutlets, approx 180 g each

Sauce:
Approx 150g fresh mixed herbs
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
50g mild mustard
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper

This recipe is on the menus in Orvieto, Umbria during May when the wild herbs are available in the fields.

For the sauce, put the herbs in a mortar and pound with the pestle, whilst slowly dribbling in the extra virgin olive oil, reducing the herbs to a paste. Add the lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the veal cutlets and fry for about 6 to 8 minutes on each side until cooked.

Spread the cold herb sauce on top of the cutlets and serve immediately.

An updated History of Amelia March 11, 2009

The town lies in the south of Umbria, on a hill overlooking the Tiber River to the east and the Nera River to the west. It is The city is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of Narni, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Orte and approximately 93 kilometres (58 mi) from Perugia. It is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Rome.

History

According to some scholars, Amelia is the oldest town in Umbria. It was supposedly founded by a legendary Umbrian king, King Ameroe, who gave the city the name Ameria. Cato the Elder is reported as saying that Ameria was founded 963 years before the war with Perseus (171-168 BC), so 1134 BC. However, recent archelogical finds under the walls of Amelia have shown that the town seems to have been inhabited by an even older civilization, of which almost nothing is know and has been identified as Umbrian Aborigine.  This civilization dates back at least 2,000 years before King Ameroe.

The city was later occupied by the Etruscans, and later still by the Romans, although it is not mentioned by name in the history of the Roman conquest of Umbria. Ameria occupied a strategic location in the Latin War (340-338 BC), lying on a loop of the Via Cassia called the Via Amerina, which started at Falerii and crossed the Tiber at Castellum Amerinum (probably Orte).

The town gained political status as a self-governing municipium, maybe as early as 338 BC, but certainly by the middle of the 1st century BC. Citizens of the town were members of the tribus Clustumina. Cicero‘s speech in defence of Sextus Roscius Amerinus describes Ameria as a flourishing place in 80 BC, with a fertile territory extending to the Tiber. Its fruit is often extolled by Roman writers. Augustusdivided its lands among his veterans, but did not plant a colony.

The bishopric of Ameria was founded in the middle of the 4th century. During the barbaric invasions, the city was besieged and badly damaged by the Goths, but was rebuilt by the time the Lombards descended from the north and asserted control over most of what is now Umbria. The Lombards, in turn, were forced out by the Byzantines, and thereafter, throughout the Middle Ages, and up to the time of Italian unification in 1860, Amelia stayed more or less under the domination of the Roman Catholic Church within the Papal States.  An interesting note of history is that Amelia was home to the first bishop of the America’s, which was the Bishopry of Santo Domingo.  The confessor of Isabella of Aragon was none other than a high prelate from Amelia, called Geraldini.  As a prize for his encouring King Ferdinand and Isable to back Christopher Columbus on his trip to the “indies”, from the West, Geraldini was given the title and honor of First Bishop of the America’s.  He must have made some good money from this position, because he was able to build several palaces in Amelia.  The first Bishop of Amelia, was Mandosi, and Palazzo Mandosi was built ate the beginning of the 1400′s and included among other things a small church and an esape route underground through Roman foundations to the Church of S. Francesco, in case the Goths attacked.

During the period the Lombards remained in control of the Via Flaminia, Amelia was an important stop on a vital alternative route, the so-called Byzantine Way, which connected Rome to the exarchate in Ravenna.

In the Middle Ages, Amelia went through the political convulsions common to other Umbrian cities: struggles that saw it emerge as an independent-minded comune, then as a city under the control of a succession of powerful families, sometimes ecclesiastical, and subject to internecine warfare between Guelphs and Ghibellines. The campanile of the cathedral was erected in 1050 using fragments of Roman buildings.

Main sights

Amelia is especially known for its walls, parts of which may date to Amelia’s earliest days. Large segments of the wall are built inpolygonal masonry of carefully jointed blocks of limestone — most likely a pre Etruscan work  (a 30-meter segment of this wall collapsed in 2006 and is under repair). The walls were further fortified and enlarged during Roman times and at various times during the Middle Ages. The walls run about 720 meters and are about 3.5 meters thick, and have four main gates: the imposing Porta Romana to the south, the main access to the town; Posterola to the north; Porta Leone to the east; and Porta della Valle to the west.

The Romans left other traces of their occupation, including a complex of ten underground cisterns, built in the 1st century AD, which collected rain water to feed the town’s water supply. There are also snatches of Roman roads within the city, some of them only recently uncovered. A larger-than-life gilt bronze statue of Germanicus was unearthed just outside the Porta Romana in 1963 and is now the linchpin of a new Archaeological Museum.

Today, old Amelia inside the walls, which is most accessible through the Porta Romana, is a well preserved medieval city. The upper part also offers a stunning view of the Tiber Valley. The center of the city is the Piazza del Duomo where the cathedral and the 30-meter-high Torre Civica (Civic Tower) are located. Amelia Cathedral was built originally in 872, and totally rebuilt in Baroque style after a fire in 1629: its façade is of pink cotto and was completed only in the 19th century. The interior has works by Federico Zuccari, Lavinia Fontana, Agostino di Duccio, an organ from 1600, and a Turkish banner captured at Lepanto.

Nearby are the Archaeological Museum and the Pinacoteca Comunale (Municipal Gallery), housed in the old Boccarini college.

San Francesco, started in 1287, is in Piazza Vera, with a cloister and a convent, which was added in the 14th century, and renovated with some Renaissance influences in the 16th. The church is capped with an impressive dome that dates to the 11th century, and was modified in the 17th century. There is also a bell tower, rebuilt in 1932, while the Romanesque-Gothic façade was finished in 1401-1406. Inside are housed sculptures by Duccio, and some Baroque material from the 17th and 18th century; the noteworthy Geraldini Chapel is from the 15th century.

The church of Sant’Agostino, in via Cavour, consecrated in 1288, has a façade that is a good example of Romanesque architecture with a Gothic overlay. The Marotti pipe organ was only installed in 1841. The annexed cloister, designed by the Lombard master Martino Tartaglia in 1492, has a portico surmounted by a loggia with small Corinthian columns. The church of S. Pancrazio features a main door that is a decorative tour-de-force. Of note also is the church of the Madonna delle Cinque Fonti. The now deconsecrated church of S. Giovanni Decollato, also called the Ospedaletto, can be viewed outside.

Along via Posterola is S. Magno, a Benedictine monastery for cloistered nuns. Inside its little church is a perfectly restored and utterly unique (none other exists) double keyboard organ from 1680.

Among the non-religious buildings there are palaces built during the 14th and 15th century by the overlords of the city: Palazzo Farrattini and Palazzo Petrignani. The Teatro Operino is an opera house built in the 17th century and features frescos by 19th-century artist Domenico Bruschi.

 

Panorama of Amelia.

Around Amelia

The hilly countryside around Amelia presents several points of interest. The Convent of the Santissima Annunziata, founded by St. Francis’ Friars Minor, has a planetarium. The Cistercians established a convent at Foce, the Sanctuary of the Virgin.

The small fraction of Porchiano del Monte has Medieval walls featuring a number of guard towers, and a beautiful little Romanesque church, San Simeone. The church of S. TImoteo, also Romanesque, has 14th and 15th Century frescoes.

Fornole is home to the Romanesque church of S. Silvestro, with an interesting fresco cycle showing the saint freeing the town from the grasp of a dragon.

Near the town is the Lago Vecchio (“Old Lake”) formed by a dam on a small river, the Rio Grande. Rowing boats and toodles can be rented to come around in the shade of alder, poplar and willow trees, looking for sometimes surprised ducks and herons. There is a small park called “La Cavallerizza”, a former horse racing track, with a walking — or jogging — path around the track, now used for weekend dances and social gatherings.

Festivals and events

The main festival of Amelia is the Palio dei Colombi, which stretches over 2 weeks in late July and early August. The central event of this palio is a contest during which riders on horseback representing the city’s five medieval neighborhoods (contrade) compete against one another in a game of quintain. The winner fires a bolt from a crossbow, hits the target and releases a caged pigeon.

An Umbrian Treat: Lentils from Castelliccio March 11, 2009

The lentil is one of the oldest edible plants known to man. In the uplands of Castelluccio di Norcia several ecotypes of lentil have long been grown. The distinctive taste and colour of the lentils are derived both from the environment in which they are grown and from the cultivation techniques which have remained unchanged for centuries. The lentils from the plains of Castelluccio are much smaller than other more commercial lentils, and much less “woody” than say the ubiquitous Chinese lentils found in many super markets.   They are in fact one of the true delicacies of Italy.  Here is a great recipe:

LENTIL SOUP WITH HAM:  (Only Castelluccio Lentils though)!

A lentil soup recipe made with ham bone and onions and celery.

Ingredients:

• 1 meaty ham bone or 1 large ham hock
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups dried lentils from Castelluccio di Norcia
• 2 cups sliced carrots, about 3 to 4 medium carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 bay leaf

Preparation:

In a stock pot or large kettle, combine ham bone, water, lentils, carrots, celery, onion, salt, sugar, pepper and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until lentils are tender.
Take out ham bone or hock and remove meat. Chop meat and return to lentil soup. Remove bay leaf. Lentil soup serves 6.

History of Amelia March 11, 2009

The town of Amelia lays on the top of a rocky hill on whose land, olive and ilex threes grow all around, only interrupted by the river Tevere.

The histoy of Amelia is as old as legend is.The enormous town walls date the VI century b.C.: originally formed by huge bricks, they have been modified during roman era and middle ages. To notice, in this respect, the Roman Door.Today Amelia is a dynamic and modern town, which has been able to take advantage from its geographic position, to impose itself in the world gastronomy elite, and which is conscient of the enormous value of its artistic and archeological wealth. Beside the town walls, several cisterns and roman houses testify the importance of Amelia during the Caesars empires.Dating middle ages, the following churches have to be reminded. The curch of San Pancrazio, whose door is a rare example of decorative art, the church of San Francesco, inside preserving some sculptures of Agostino di Duccio, the dome, which, although modified during baroque age, date the first half of XI century, as still testified by the bell tower . Finally the church of Madonna delle Cinque Fonti, where San Francesco from Assisi rested.Remarkable also the palaces Farrattini, Mandosi, Geraldini and Petrignani (XVI century), erected during the seignioury age.

March 1, 2009

A Waning Affair With Barolo
The 2004 vintage of the Italian red disappoints; soul, intensity absent
By DOROTHY J. GAITER AND JOHN BRECHER

We recently visited our favorite secret-hideaway, cash-only, little Italian joint, where the owner sometimes sells wine cheap from his special cellar and you pour your own darn bottle. The special that night was a 1997 Barolo for $60. This was a deal we found impossible to refuse. We ordered the wine and it was terrific — earthy, soulful, powerful and proud. Even with our spicy chicken dishes, the wine seemed a masterful match. We lingered over it forever, but neither of us took a single sip for granted. The wine kept telling us, “Attention must be paid,” and we did. The Barolo made the entire meal special, transporting us not only to the hills of Piedmont, but to a different time. It made us realize how much we miss Barolo.

We love Barolo, the great wine from Italy made from the Nebbiolo grape, and we always have. Because it ages so well for so long, we used to collect many vintages of it. We enjoyed Barolo so often that we even stored some at our favorite restaurant in Coral Gables, Fla., so we could drink it with dinner there and share it with the owner. This restaurant was the first place we took our daughter Media. She was two months old, sitting in her carrier on the table, and we opened one of our Barolos in her honor. We have often said that, if stranded on a desert island with one bottle of wine, we’d want Barolo. It is so soulful and life-affirming that, with one glass, we’d just know we’d be rescued — and we wouldn’t care if we were.

The Dow Jones 2004 Barolo Index

In a broad blind tasting of Barolo from the 2004 vintage, these were our favorites, all of which are made in small quantities. For example, the Marcarini is available nationwide, but only 600 cases were imported. Some Barolo producers have relationships with small importers or local stores, so distribution is haphazard. Specific labels can be hard to find, but good merchants will have at least some Barolo from 2004. These will age well for many years. Barolo is good with roasts and other special meals. These are powerful wines, especially in their youth, but not overly alcoholic. Every wine in our tasting was 14.5% alcohol or less. Prices on Barolo are flexible right now. For example, we paid $48 and $67 for the Marcarini at two stores not far from each other, while something in-between appears to be more representative.

Giacomo Grimaldi ‘Sotto Castello di Novello.’
$53*. Very Good/Delicious. Best of tasting and best value. This is Barolo — intense, serious, powerful. Chocolate, raisins, some dried cherries and marvelous earthiness. Worth every penny and more. We also liked the regular Grimaldi ($40).

Attilio Ghisolfi.
$35.99. Very Good. Real focus and nice edges. Highly personal, with huge fruit that’s so pure and real it’s easy to drink despite its size. Quite a wine.

Corino ‘Vigna Giachini.’
$65*. Very Good. Lovely flavors, with cherry-chocolate tastes and a lingering, mouth-coating finish. Maintains its tight fruit from beginning to end.

Marcarini ‘La Serra.’
$55*. Good/Very Good. More relaxed than most, more elegant, with some complexity and food-friendly acidity. Earthy, with chocolate, cherries and minerals. Longtime favorite.

Mauro Veglio ‘Vigneto Arborina.’
$58*. Good/Very Good. Nicely balanced and confident. Real guts, with rich, dark-fruit tastes. Meaty.

NOTE: Wines are rated on a scale that ranges: Yech, OK, Good, Very Good, Delicious and Delicious! *We paid $59.99 for Grimaldi, $69.99 for Corino, $48 and $67 for Marcarini and $55 for Veglio, but these prices appear to be more representative. Prices vary widely.

Wine Notes

Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher answer a reader’s question about an 80-year-old bottle of “Old Tokay.”
But we haven’t drunk much Barolo in a while. Somehow, it became a special occasion wine to us. Partly it’s the price — it’s hard to find one for less than $50 and it’s possible to pay far more. But it’s more than that. Barolo is so regal, so serious, so powerful that it’s hard to make time — and an appropriate meal — for it in a busy world. Yes, it happens to us, too.

The ’97 reminded us what we were missing. A few days later, we took a 1964 Ceretto Barolo to our favorite BYOB place. When we opened the wine at 6:40, it was slightly dusty and seemed tired. Two hours later, though, it had pulled itself together into an ephemeral, soft treat, still with a core of intact, sweet fruit and rich earth. It sang both with Dottie’s duck and John’s mango chicken.

Naturally, those two yummy experiences nudged us to conduct a broad blind tasting. The good news is that the well-regarded 2004 vintage has recently arrived, but we figured that might be the bad news, too: We assumed that these wines, never inexpensive, would be crazy expensive for such a good vintage, especially considering that just about the entire 2002 vintage was ruined by bad weather, including hail. As we looked around, though, we found that the economic mess is clearly keeping demand for Barolo, and therefore prices, down. We even saw sales on the 2004s. Not that the wines are inexpensive, but it’s possible they could still be good values if they are transcendent.

We set a price limit at $70 to see if we could find 50 at that price, and we had no trouble doing that. The wines included so many old friends, from Silvio Grasso to Pio Cesare. We had not conducted a Barolo tasting in four years and we looked forward to this with unusual anticipation. Dottie cooked a special meal each night — including, of course, her own version of beef Barolo, which we first enjoyed with Bruno and Marcello Ceretto more than two decades ago at Marcello’s home in Piedmont.

Darn it. They really just weren’t that impressive. You can’t imagine our shock and disappointment. Flight after flight left us cold. They weren’t bad. They were pleasant enough. But with wine after wine, we used a word that should never be used to describe Barolo: simple. It’s not that they were made in more of an “international” style, with softer tannins and a smoother taste, though that was sometimes the case. It’s that the bar, overall, seemed lower than it has been. The wines lacked soul and intensity. We expect greatness, or at least a reach for greatness, from Barolo. Yes, they were very young and fine Barolo can become more and more majestic with time, but these generally are not majestic wines, and they will never be. “If you don’t pay attention with every sip, it’s not Barolo,” John said at one point — and too many of these were not worthy of much attention. Too many tasted diluted — thin around the edges; overly grapey; soft; and even, in some cases, creamy. While it’s possible that we set our price limit too low, we expect wines from a fine vintage to show well, generally. Consider the inexpensive red Bordeaux from 2005, for instance, which we found impressive at $20 and less.

We tasted the wines in blind flights over several nights and ….

Fortunately, we tasted a few that reminded us how wonderful Barolo can be. “Powerful, with great fruit, plenty of earth, dried cherries and chocolate. Dry and raisiny, with face-slapping intensity. Serious stuff,” we wrote of one, which turned out to be Giacomo Grimaldi. Other good ones reminded us of black olives and very ripe though very tight fruit, the kind of fruit that seems to explode in our mouths and make our toes tingle. The finish on the good ones was long, dry and earthy, with a lovely balance of dark fruit and acidity that lingers. There were various tastes from basil to chocolate, not to mention mouth-puckering tannins, that made the wines complex, interesting and substantial, with muscularity and depth.

Would we rush out and buy a 2004 Barolo? No. But all love affairs hit rough patches. We have no desire to divorce Barolo and we’re not going to. If anything, all of this reminded us how very special those good bottles can be. But before we’d spend that kind of money, we’d make sure we had a merchant we trusted who has a good selection of Italian wines. And, most certainly, before laying any down — and that is what most Barolo lovers do — we would taste them to make sure we liked them even in their infancy so we wouldn’t be disappointed as they mature.