Gala Dinner at Antonio Galloni's La Festa del Barolo, NYC, 2/6/2015

Gala Dinner at Antonio Galloni's La Festa del Barolo
at Four Seasons Restaurant, NYC (2/6/2015)

This was the Friday evening gala dinner at Antonio Galloni Vinous Media's La Festa del Barolo 2015. I sat with members of my regular Barolo group at the G.B. Burlotto table with Fabio Alessandria who is the winemaker at Burlotto and the great-great-grandson of Commendatore Giovan Battista Burlotto himself. The G.B. Burlotto Winery was founded in 1850. I attended another dinner with Fabio in 2012. You can find my notes and photos for that dinner here.

Part 2 of La Festa del Barolo was a Morning Tasting of the New Release of 2010 Barolos the next day.

My notes and photos for the Gala Dinner at the 2013 La Festa del Barolo and the 2011 La Festa del Barolo.

Click on any photo for a larger view of that photo. Many larger photos contain more image as well as much higher resolution and are typically 3-4 MB.

The Reception and the Venue.
The Wines and the Food.
Other Tables and Their Wines.

The Reception and the Venue

The Four Seasons Restaurant is a special and historic restaurant. The food at dinner was truly outstanding. Kudos to Executive Chef Pecko Zantilaveevan.

The entrance on East 52nd Street.

The lobby by the entrance at street level.

Upstairs: The bar in the Grill Room.

2004 Dom Pérignon in magnum and 750. NV Bérèche Brut Rosé Campania Remensis.
With tasty assorted appetizers in the Grill Room before dinner. Both excellent but no notes.

Dinner in the Pool Room. Note before clicking on this, the original is a 10MB file.

Greg arrives at our table and is greeted by Kelly.

Bettina Rogosky of Il Carnasciale and Kelly.

Paul Grieco and Levi Dalton are our sommeliers for the evening! (Along with Jarred Roth.)

Antonio Galloni gets the evening started.

The Wines and the Food

Unlike the first two La Festa Gala dinners, our table was assigned three sommeliers who laid out a plan for the wines we brought to pair with the various courses, so the wines didn't just keep coming, but came out in flights with the food.

Our three sommeliers were among the best in the business: Paul Grieco of Hearth Restaurant and Terroir Wine Bars, Levi Dalton of I'll Drink To That! and so you want to be a sommelier?, and Jarred Roth from Riverpark.

Flight 1
Grilled Octopus with Blood Oranges, Capers, Chickpea Puree, and Romesco Sauce.

1971 Gaja Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
A 3.78 liter bottle brought by Eddie M. Decanted before dinner. Nose of earth and cherries. Long elegant and earthy.
Open 2 more hours it is really showing its stuff. Much more complex, but still very elegant. (95 points)
2001 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Acclivi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought by Fabio. Fragrant nose of red fruits and spice. Juicy red fruits in the mouth. Tasty. Still young. (92 points)
2001 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Vigneto Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought by Fabio. Muted black fruit nose. Juicy. More structured and complex than the Acclivi. Needs time. (93 points)
1990 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Riserva Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Taste from Bob L. Fruitcake nose. Just a lovely complex wine. (95 points)

Flight 2
More Burlotto with octopus.

1995 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Neirane - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought by Greg. Complex nose of black fruit and tapenade. Expansive and complex. A gorgeous wine from what is considered a lesser vineyard in Verduno and a lesser vintage, but it is right in its sweet spot now. Still should drink well for at least 5-8 years more. (93 points)
1996 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Neirane - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought by Greg. MUCH more structured, backward and tannic than the 1995 Neirane. Needs 5-10 years more. (93-? points)
1995 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought by Greg. Wonderful floral and black olive nose. Rich, structured, tannic. Not nearly as ready as the 1995 Neirane, but not nearly as backward as the 1996 Neirane. Should drink well for 20 years more. (94 points)

Bettina brought olive oil from her estate. It was exquisite.

The waiter offered a taste of the olive oil used at The Four Seasons.

Fabio and his East Coast importer/distributor Filippo Pistone of Bacchanal Wines.

Henry thinks Greg is nuts. He's right!

Flight 3
Wild Mushroom Risotto with Foie Gras.
As Todd said, "I could have eaten 4 courses of this. Just a great dish and perfect with these wines.

My heart belongs to Foie Gras!

1989 Azienda Bricco Asili (Ceretto) Barbaresco Bricco Asili - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
Earthy nose. On the palate, the wine is dirty and lacks fruit. Maybe just a bad bottle?
1982 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Riserva Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Corked. Very sad. :(
1958 Cantina Mascarello Barolo Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
1.9 liter bottle brought by Jamie. OMFG!!! Stunning nose of red and black fruit, tar, violets. Amazingly expansive in the mouth. Explodes on the palate. Ethereal, it lifts you up. This is every bit as good as the first bottle I had many years ago which was the first bottle I rated 100 points. God's house wine, as my host the first time I had this said back then. (100 points)
1971 Filippo Sobrero Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Henry brought this and was not happy that it had to follow the 1958 Bartolo, but boy did it hold its own. A stunningly complex nose. Delicious, complex and elegant in the mouth. Wow!
Luca Currado (of Vietti) told me his great grandfather owned the vineyard this was made from, a parcel in Monprivato, but he had to sell it to the church long ago. Sobrero bought it from the church. When Sobrero went out of business, Luca's father tried to buy it back, but Mauro Mascarello outbid him to complete his ownership of Monprivato. (96 points)
1988 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Magnum brought by Todd. Gorgeous nose of red fruit and fruit cake. Tannic structured, but still delicious and relatively light on its feet. This might be the best wine Bruno made in 1988. (93 points)

Marzia greets Fabio.

Marzia greets Bettina.

Marzia chats with Kelly and Greg.

Flight 4
Four Season Short Ribs with Roasted Root Vegetables. Excellent!

1974 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Muted nose. Earthy, tannic. Not much here.
1978 Podere Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Riserva Vigna d'la Roul - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
There were 2 magnums of this wine. One at our table was unimpressive. But another brought over by Jonathan D. was beautiful. Harmonious with dark black fruit. Still full of life. My score is for the 2nd one. (93 points)
1978 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Riserva Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
A magnum brought by Jamie. Fragrant cherry nose. Expansive, tannic, tasty. Some sourness on the finish keeps it from being great. (93 points)

Michael Jessen of Wally's Auction and Antonio begin the charity auction.
$228K was raised to support The Zone at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Greg, Henry, and Todd are enjoying themselves.

Josh L brings a bottle of 1958 Cappellano Barolo by for us to taste.

Josh's bottle of 1958 Cappellano Barolo.

Flight 5
With the short ribs.

1978 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought by Peter. Fragrant nose. Tart in the mouth. Nice. (91 points)
1985 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Cicala - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought by Peter. Strawberry compote nose. Elegant, sweet and tart in the mouth. Simple. Not what I'd expect from this wine. (89 points)
1958 Cappellano Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought to our table by Josh L. Not the best bottle of this wine, but lovely. (92 points)
2007 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Brought by me. Gorgeous red fruit nose. Complex in the mouth with black olives and sweet red fruit. Great future! (93-? points)

Antonio stops by to say hello to Bettina.

And to hang with the old gang for a bit.

Henry gets his cheese.

Flight 6
Artisanal Cheeses.

1997 Ferrari Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Trentino, Trento
Magnum brought by Todd. Hard to judge. Seems out of place in this sequence. Not rated. I think I would have liked it quite a bit earlier.
2000 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Magnum brought by Kelly. Just stunning. Ripe red fruit nose. Sweet fruit on the palate. Long penetrating, ripe, complex. Certainly one of the best wines of the vintage. (96 points)
2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 11am. Broke the decanter, but managed to save about 700ml of wine which I filtered back into the bottle.] An OMFG wine. Just brilliant. Heavenly aromas. Fabulously expansive in the mouth. I can't give a detailed description this late in the evening, but this is one glorious wine which will surely be great for decades to come. (100 points)
1978 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Cicala - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Sour and medicinal. Not sure where this came from. Not rated.
1971 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Riserva Pora - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
From a magnum that I never saw. Gorgeous youthful nose, but the palate is a letdown. Dried out. Not rated. Tough going after the Giacosa Riservas.

Luca Currado comes by for a visit.

Bettina, Kelly, Fabio, and Mannie Berk of Rare Wine Co.

Flight 7
Then, just when I thought I was done, Antonio shows up at our table with freshly opened bottles of these 2010 Barolos from Giuseppe Rinaldi. Wow! What a way to finish the evening. So much of the past tonight, now a glimpse into the future with these two great young wines.

2010 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Tre Tine - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Heavenly red fruit nose. Bright red fruits in the mouth. A great sense of elegance and balance. (93-95 points)
2010 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Stunning, wow wow nose of complex sour cherry, tar and flowers. Long and amazing finish. This wine has such a great future. We will taste it again tomorrow morning. It will show even better with a bit more air. (97 points)

Tasting notes posted from CellarTracker

Other Tables and Their Wines

The Ceretto table. Alessandro Ceretto with the glasses on the left.
Chris W, Meridith W, Josh L, Kathi R, and Ben G.

The Ceretto table. Meridith W, Josh L, Kathi R, Ben G, Sandi M.

The G. Conterno table. Roberto Conterno seated far left.

Eric Guido at the Elvio Cogno table. Valter Fissore seated next to Eric.
Silvia Altare at the next table in the back left.

The G.D. Vajra table. Giuseppe Vaira facing away. His father Aldo facing.

The wines from the Ceretto table with a special appearance
by Luca Currado. (Photo by Chris W.)

Wines from the Cogno table held by Nadia Cogno & Valter Fissore.
The gold label wines were made by Nadia's father Elvio Cogno.

More of the wines from the Cogno table.

More of the wines from the Cogno table.
(Photo 1 by Nicolai Søegaard, photo 2 by Eric Guido.)

Just some interesting bottles found on other tables.
(Last photo by Steve Adams.)

Eric Guido's notes on this evening.