A Journey through Chianti Classico with Castello di Albola and La Locanda, Gisburn

Serata del Chianti13th September 2016

An evening at La Locanda restaurant in Gisburn celebrating 300 years of Chianti Classico with the wines of Castello di Albola.

Castello di Albola

The medieval village of Castello di Albola, the heart of the estate, lies in the Chianti hills in the municipality of Radda around 20 miles south east of Florence. The estate passed through the hands of various families of the Tuscan nobility over the centuries, but most recently came under the ownership of the Zonin family around 1970.  The estate covers some 900 hectares, planted with around 4000 olive trees and 150 hectares of vines.

We were just 11 days short of the 300th anniversary of Chianti Classico, as it was 24th September 1716 when Grand Duke Cosimo III de’ Medici defined the boundaries of the Chianti, Pomino, Carmignano and Vald'Arno di Sopra wine growing regions  between the cities of Florence and Siena. He also established an organization to control wine production and to guard against counterfeiting. 

We were taken through the wines by Alessandro Marchesan from Zonin and through the matching food, prepared by chef Maurizio Bocchi, by Cinzia Bocchi of La Locanda.

Aperitivo

We started, as is becoming traditional at La Locanda's special evenings with an olive oil cocktail - a bloody mary incorporating the Castello di Albola extra virgin olive oil.

A very spicy, very potent Bloody Mary with extra lushness from the olive oil

With the Bloody Mary was served what most of the table thought the best dish of the evening, a toasted slice of Maurizio Bocchi's own made Tuscan bread topped with local Lancashire cavolo nero draped with some thinly sliced lardo di Colonnata just melting on to it.  Delicious, and a perfect balance of flavours.

Crostone con lardo

Antipasto

Tonno del Chianti - pork shoulder cooked for 8 hours in white wine and veg, then shredded and then strained and marinaded in loads of herbs and loads of olive oil. Pulled pork Italian style I decided to call it. The thing is, it not only looked like tinned tuna, but it was impossible not to think the flavour wasn't reminiscent of tuna too.

Tonno del Chianti

• 2013 Castello d'Albola Chianti Classico DOCGServed cool.
  A good garnet colour - not looking obviously youthful.
  Very good nose. Lots of typicity and a touch of bacon fat. And as it warms up in the glass, there's a touch of veal stock on the nose.
  Bright, savoury fruit on the palate. There's a fair bit of spice too. It almost feels like it should be a bit chunky and rustic, but then a very velvety character takes over and smooths it all out. Great length.
  
  The difference between this and the 2012 which followed it is remarkable, almost like different estates and different winemakers. The comparison that came to my mind was that the 2013 was like a dry stone wall to the neatly laid Accrington brick wall of the 2012.
  88/100

Primo Piatto

Zuppa di farro. A rustic soup of spelt, with onion, a smoky pancetta and Pecorino Toscano DOP. Simple but delicious, and remarkably excellent with the wine.

Zuppa di farro

• 2012 Castello d'Albola Chianti Classico DOCG
  Served en magnum.
  2012 was a cooler, more difficult year than 2013, rescued by a very good September.  A rich, deep garnet appearance. 
  Much more closed on the nose than the 2013, but also with richer, sweeter fruit, and (despite being served in magnums), this has lost its baby fat.
  Very smooth and velvety on the palate. Very good, pure, sweet fruit. A little brooding maybe. Very savoury, slightly sour cherry fruit on the finish. 
  Again despite being in magnums (the received opinion being that a wine should age more slowly, the larger the bottle), overall it's very nicely integrated with good poised. 89/100

Secondo Piatto di Pesce

Brodetto chiaro di pesce - a delicate clear fish broth with monkfish, clams, mussels and lemon sole

brodetto chiaro di pesce

• 2015 Castello d'Albola Poggio Alle Fate Toscana IGT
  An unoaked chardonnay, made in a Chablis style. Limited production of only 10,000 bottles and, in the UK at least, destined for the on-trade ony.
  A very pale lemon straw colour. Flinty, steely nose dominated by the minerality with some salinity.
  A very austere, steely attack. Quite a firm texture in the mouth, with notable acidity. It feels quite extracted with a pear drop intensity. Very zippy and tingly in the mouth with that same salinity that was on the nose coming through on the finish.
  Very austere and a bit hard work. Pleasurable is not the word. 85/100

Secondo Piatto di Carne

Costolette di agnello con cavolo nero e salsa alle nocciole (lamb steaks with Lancashire cavolo nero and a hazelnut sauce that was delicious in itself, but also a wonderful combination with the lamb - a combination I'd never had, but a complete revelation.  Sadly the lamb was overcooked.

Costolette di agnello con cavolo nero e salsa alle nocciole

• 2012 Castello d'Albola Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG
  A very even garnet red.
  Very attractive nose. It has a lovely perfume, cherry and a hint of rose, together with a suggestion of a sort of vaguely salted anchovy umami note and a hint of vanilla.
  Very silky attack with good concentration immediately evident and feeling very integrated. In the mouth, it builds and builds, developing a certain spiciness and increasing in rusticity. That developing rustic note makes it feel like it's about to fall apart after the elegantly restrained attack, but then it pulls itself together as more evident tannins come along and help it to reintegrate. Very well handled oak.
  It is, however, far too young. I'd score this 86/100 now, but with the potential for 88-90 when it's matured enough to be drinkable with pleasure. 89/100
• 2013 Castello d'Albola Chianti Classico Gran Selezione
  2013 is the first vintage of the Gran Selezione, and was released for sale in June 2016.
  A lovely, integrated nose that feels more mature than the 2012 Riserva. Good, integrated fruit with a bit of subtle oak knitting it together.
  Rich, full attack. Very nicely together on the palate. A touch of salty, savoury spice on the finish. Very elegant. A real step up in terms of elegance over the other Castello di Albola Chiantis.  91/100
  

Dolce

L'elmo di Caterina dei Medici... lo zucotto.  A magnificent, if far too large pudding, a bit like the old Russian Cake you used to be able to buy from bakeries, using up leftover cakes, soaked with booze. Here it was filled with sweet ricotta cheese, toasted hazelnuts and chocolate, the whole thing then covered in a rich chocolate ganache.  

• 2005 Castello d'Albola Vin Santo del Chianti Classico
  An intense raisiny nose with some apricot. There's a touch of oxidative nuttiness.
  Very concentrated palate. Very, very intense. Almost painfully intense. Pretty decent acidity. It has a nice, oily, nutty feel. An extremely accomplished vin santo - one of the best I can remember having. 92/100

 
 
For this evening, I was the guest of La Locanda.

A quick tour round off-beat Italy with Zubair Mohamed of Raeburn Wines

As part of Tom Cannavan's Glasgow Festival of Wine in June 2016, I attended a couple of  "masterclasses" (actually a chance to escape the crowd of the walkround tasting and sit down and taste some wine in comfort!). This was a selection of interesting wines from Italy, selected and presented by Zubair Mohamed of Raeburn Wines in Edinburgh.

The grand setting of Glasgow's Trades Hall.

2012 Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle, Maison Vevey Albert, DOP Vallee d'Aoste, 12.5%
£18.60 per bottle.
I'm not sure I've come across the Prié Blanc grape before. Vineyard adjacent to Mont Blanc. Ungrafted vines, as there aren't crampons small enough for phylloxera to get up there.
There's loads of minerality on the nose. Herby meadows-y notes, but also a hint of toffee-honey.
Very crisp, minerally palate. Opens out nicely in the mouth. There's a wonderful clarity to this, and it's difficult
given the terroir not to think of bubbling mountain streams.
An interesting wine. Great length.
Very nice, very drinkable, very expensive for what it is.
89/100



2010 Il Pigro della Marca, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, La Marca San Michele
£21.00 per bottle.
Aged for two years in botti grandi.
A deep, rich nose with butter and white flowers, and a bit of an oxidised feel.
Full palate. I wouldn't guess this was verdicchio if I didn't know.
Whether it is a bit oxidised, or made in an oxidative style, I don't know, but on the palate, it could be anything.
83/100



2010 Morus Alba, Vignai da Duline, San Giovanni al Natisone, Friuli
£22.99 per bottle.
60% Malvasia Istriana; 40% sauvignon blanc.
Quite a golden colour.
Rubbery, sweaty, cheesy nose. Very curious. A dense, solid nose, with some quite extracted distilled florality.
Lovely palate: very rich and full. Hugely interesting. Deep and complex, with massive length.
93/100



2013 Rosso di Gaetano, Azienda Agricola Le Coste di Clementine Bouvéron, Lazio, 13%
£15.00 per bottle.
A blend of mainly sangiovese, with some merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and grenache.
A vibrant, youthful colour.
Fascinating nose: Rubbery and yet also very floral red fruit.
Gorgeous palate. Lots of red fruit. Very pure and juicy. Very clean finish.
There's a touch of Vimto on the palate. Which is not a criticism.
92/100




2005 Nerello Mascalese Vecchie Vigne Etna Rosso, Calabretta, Etna, Sicily
£18.99 per bottle.
Scented, lifted, very compelling nose.
Delicious palate. Very pure red fruit. Very clean, pure finish.
This is really good. Packed full of character and lovely fruit, lingering all the way through.
Great length.
93/100



2009 Valpolicella Superiore Monte Lodoletta, Dal forno Romano
£61.00 per bottle.
How much? That sets the bar very high.
A bit of a mini Amarone with the grapes being dried for 1½ months. Aged in new oak for 36 months.
An inky, very dark colour.
Massive oak on the nose and not a lot else.
Very silky palate. Very big. Very full. Very oaky. There's no finesse or elegance here.
It's definitely not my preferred style of wine, and seems to need years. I know oak costs money, but £61 for this oak monster just seems ridiculous. What am I missing? Are the grapes individually polished by Vestal Virgins or something?
The only reason I could see for me to buy this would be as an investment, in the hope that Romano dal Forno isn't a bubble that's going to burst.
It is certainly very unapproachable at the moment. I also find myself questioning how long this will last: is there enough to it to keep it going for the 10+ years it seems to need? Is it all superficial structure?
Not for me.
86/100 (being generous and making allowances for my tastes)

An evening of Col d'Orcia wines with Count Francesco Marone Cinzano at La Locanda, Gisburn

Excellent evening this week at La Locanda restaurant in Gisburn, with the charismatic Il Conte Francesco Marone Cinzano (yes, the Leonard Rossiter-Joan Collins vermouth lot), who turned out to be a good speaker and passionate about the wines of his Col d'Orcia estate.

Count Francesco Marone Cinzano

The reds were all double decanted a few hours earlier.

We started with the simplest tomato bruschette served with an intriguing, yet delicious olive oil and Cinzano cocktail: 1 part Cinzano Bianco, 2 parts Prosecco, 2 parts watermelon juice, 1 part gin, and ½ part EVOO from the Col d'Orcia estate.

The first wine, a Rosso di Montalcino, was served with an excellent antipasti of (clockwise from bottom left) bresaola of Chianina beef, salame di Cinta Senese, a fabulous lightly smoked goose cured goose breast, and a truffled wild boar mortadella that redefines your perception of mortadella.



2013 Rosso di Montalcino Banditella, Tenuta Col d'Orcia, 14.5%
10,000 bottles produced. Some ageing in French barriques.
Bright red fruits and cherry. There's a hint of violets and savouriness of tobacco.
Young and vibrant palate. Very fresh and zippy in the mouth.
Very mouthfilling for such a young, simple wine.
There's a nice savoury touch on the very expansive middle.
I really like this. Lots of interesting flavours unravel as it sits in the glass, yet it retains a vibrant freshness.
The downside is that it certainly doesn't hide its hefty 14.5% alcohol.
89/100

The Col d'Orcia olive oil reappeared with some bread (and in the bread): two breads one (the paler one in the background) made with 10% olive oil, and one (in the foreground) made with 40% olive oil, but otherwise identical. The first was very tasty, with a good chewy texture; the second was remarkable, with an almost brioche-like friability.

Primo piatto was pici (a thick handmade spaghetti) with an intriguing wood pigeon ragu.


The pasta was excellent, though the ragu, while having all the flavour you'd imagine it could, was a little underseasoned and a bit dry - to the point that I wondered if the pan had been left to boil dry. Though I think this was how it was intended, as we were recommended to season it with the olive oil, which did indeed bring it to life, and add the seasoning that was needed. Probably would have been best to do that in the kitchen though, as I noticed a reticence to add the oil on other tables.

This was served with the 2010 Brunello di Montalcino.
2010 Brunello di Montalcino, Tenuta Col d'Orcia, 14.5%
c.20,000 bottles produced.
A very poised nose showing a fair bit of maturity. Great restraint. Some cherry fruit.
Immediately attractive on the palate. Very silky.
Then it explodes with big, slightly sour fruit.
Very integrated, and showing a nice elegance.
Very, very long.
Complex without being overly deep.
Much improved with the food.
91/100

In an interesting, and quite brave move for rural Lancashire, we moved from two reds, to a white, with Caciucco de pesce azzurro con gnocchi soffiati. We couldn't quite work out all the fish that were in this light stew, but there was definitely mackerel, tuna (possibly a couple of varieties), monkfish, possibly swordfish. I'd never had gnocchi soffiati before: light, free-form, airy; like a poached mashed potato maybe.



2013 Pinot Grigio Sant'Antimo, Tenuta Col d'Orcia, 13.5%
A mid straw colour.
Rich nose with almonds and ripe stone fruit - peach, pear. Lots of peach. Bright citrussy note too.
Bit of a buttery, creamy note on the nose with aeration (apparently there's a splash of chardonnay in it).
Some talcy minerality. Really developing on the nose in the glass and with aeration.
Some white flower and honeysuckle aromas now.
Very intense, deep palate. What a mouthful! There's lots of fruit, but also some extraction.
This is very far from a typical Italian pinot grigio, and indeed there's something reminiscent of an Alsace Pinot Gris.
With that bit of extraction, there's even something of an Alsace gewurztraminer about this (though without the flavour).
Maybe if Zind Humbrecht made Italian pinot grigio?
There's a hint of woody spice on the finish. Maybe a little hot.
A fascinating wine, but it's a bit to big and pushy for me.
87/100

Meat course was a very good coniglio in porchetta con fagioli all'uccelletto. Rabbit that had been boned out and beaten flat, then wrapped around some sort of cured sausage, slightly reminiscent of morteau sausage, except that it certainly wouldn't have been anything French. The beans are cooked with tomatoes and sage in bottles in a bain marie. This was a fantastic dish (which I hope to find has made its way on to the à la carte next time I go), though very filling, given the denseness of the meat. It was also, very sadly, a singularly poor match with the 2007 Brunello Riserva, which it completely dominated. However, reverting to my glass of the Rosso di Montalcino with which we'd started the meal, that was a much better match: a bit like the classic Beaujolais and charcuterie match.




2007 Poggio al Vento, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG,
14.5%
A big, unusually meaty nose. Though there's also some semi-dried ripe red fruit, with tobacco, leather and a touch of sous bois.
Very integrated nose. Nice elegance.
With aeration, a bit of a bitter chocolate note comes along giving it a very rich feel. There's a nice floral perfumed note too - sort of purple flowers.
The palate is enveloping and cossetting, with some deep, slightly sour fruit. Very integrated palate.
Soft integrated tannins.
I think this is clearly benefiting from having been double decanted several hours previously, as it is nicely softened and feeling very integrated.
But there's also a fairly primary feel to the fruit, and it's clearly got lots of life ahead of it. 30-40 years easily.
Elegant and delicate too.

While the rabbit bullied the Poggio al Vento, it was superb with some Pecorino Toscano DOP, the saltiness of the cheese really lifting the wine.

The Pecorino Toscano was one of three pecorino cheeses, alongside a rather lovely pecorino al tartufo, and a wonderful pecorino di grotta (matured in caves till strong and a bit spicy).

With the cheese was served Col d'Orcia's super-Tuscan.
2012 Olmaia Sant'Antimo Cabernet, Tenuta Col d'Orcia, 14.5%.
100% cabernet sauvignon from a single vineyard (Olmaia).
A very, very young, intense deep inky colour.
Big black fruits on the nose. But also lots and lots of smoky oak, together with a dried leaf note.
Deep, yet precise.
On the palate, it's just huge and massive. Lots of ripe fruit. Massive grippy tannins (apparently 2012 was drought-ridden, which has emphasised the tannins).

On its own, this was hard work and really needed the cheese to make it enjoyable.
88/100

Finally, after what had been a bit of a marathon meal, we moved onto a sfogliatina con crema al Moscadello, or what we'd call a custard slice in English.
This wasn't entirely successful, as it looked like either the puff pastry had risen too much or they'd not made enough of the muscat-flavoured cream, as there was just a bit too much pastry in relation to the filling.

The cream was flavoured with Col d'Orcia's muscat, which we naturally drank with it.

2011 Moscadello di Montalcino Pascena Vendemmia Tardiva, Tenuta Col d'Orcia, 12%
A very charming nose. Lots of muscat character.
Some clear lemon-orange notes on the nose.
Really poised, elegant palate. This is delightful, with none of the showiness that muscat can have.
Very balanced and elegant.
93/100