1985 BAROLO & BARBARESCO
Alto Restaurant, NYC (2/27/2010)

This was Part 2 of the Nebbiolo Knights February 2010 Barolothon. Part 1 was Giacosa at Joe & Magda's.

Attendees: Joe, Jamie, Kelly, Tom, Ken, Greg, Henry, Steve, Dan.

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The Exterior of Alto Restaurant.


A piece of the Berlin Wall outside Alto.


Brad and Angelina were there!
Not the same night as us, but still . . .
their evening is on YouTube, ours isn't. ;)


The interior of Alto is spectacular.
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Saturday Night Flights (and Food)



Flight 0
With Celery puree soup with black truffle foam.

2001 Bellevista Brut Rose
Very crisp and refreshing. Flavorful. 91 points.


Flight 1
With Polenta Integrale con Creste di Gallo (soft whole-grain polenta, cock's comb and pig trotter ragu, toma di rocca cheese).

1985 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Gallina
[DD 5pm.] Dirty nose. Sharp and unpleasant. A touch of TCA. NR.
1985 Produttori Barbaresco Montefico
Earthy nose. Complex, sweet, beautiful! Sweet in the mouth. Very long. At its peak now. 94 points.
1985 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano Riserva
More muted nose of blood iron. Exquisite and expansive in the mouth. A great wine! 97 points.
1985 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn
Big meaty nose. Too much rich meaty flavor. Can't be all Nebbiolo. Out of place here. NR
1985 G. Conterno Barbera d'Alba
[Henry's Mystery Wine] Nasty, shitty nose and palate. Since Henry had also brought the beautiful Produttori Montefico, I guessed that this wine was Montefecal


Flight 2
With Uovo in Raviolo alla Bergese con Animelle (egg and spinach filled raviolo, crisp sweetbreads, black trumpet mushrooms).
I asked the waiter to hold the lid so that I could take a picture. He really hammed it up and got a laugh. The service was generally excellent.
A really delicious dish.

1985 Altare Barolo
A musty nose. Rich fruit but a lot of dirty chewy tannin showing through. Disappointing. 88 points.
1985 Scavino Barolo Bric de Fiasc
Appealing vanilla red fruit nose. Tannic, ripe fruit. Others hated it. 89 points.
1985 G. Rinaldi Barolo La Brunata Riserva
Mulchy nose. Sour cherry mouth. Some cherry. A dirty, sour wine. Others liked it a lot more. NR.
1985 G. Mascarello Barolo Monprivato
Classic dusty cherry nose. Big rich terrific! Superb length. Could use more air. A terrific wine. Many years ahead. 95 points.


Flight 3
With Piccione con Fagioli all'Uccelletto (roasted squab, Tuscan-style cannellini bean ragu, leg confit).

1985 A. Conterno Barolo Colonello
Interesting muted nose of ground beef and red fruit. Lovely tar red fruits. Sweet and delicious. 93 points.
1985 A. Conterno Barolo Cicala
Gorgeous nose of rabbit raghu. Riveting length. Big round expansive. Exquisite. 96 points.
1985 G. Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia
Huge meaty nose. A big tannic wine is just delicious. Super-long finish. Still has many years ahead.
1985 G. Conterno Barolo Monfortino
Corked. :(


Flight 4
With Tagliata di Manzo con Funghi e Midollo (Creekstone Farms sirloin, hen of the woods (mushroom), parsnip puree, roasted fingerling potatoes, red wine-bone marrow sauce).

1985 Giacosa Barolo Villero
Classic Giacosa nose of fruitcake and red fruit. Big and tannic. Rich. Classic! A Barolo's Barolo. 95 points.
1985 Vietti Barolo Villero Riserva
Complex nose. Black cherries and licorice. An amazing wine. Very young and vibrant. 94-96 points.


Cheese Course


People Pix

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Jamie and Joe.

Steve and Tom.

Kelly, Dan, Henry.

Ken, Kelly, Dan.

Group shot.

Greg actually thinks I'm correct about something!

Kelly shows off his new iPhone ap.

Finally, the killer ap: iFart!

Appropriate hilarity ensues.



Relaxing at the end. Another lovely evening.

 

 

 


All original content © Ken Vastola