Neb Vinous Vietti Dinner with Luca Currado
@
Ai Fiori Restaurant
in the Langham Place Hotel, NYC, 6/13/2017
This Nebbiolo group (formed though the
Vinous forum)
once again planned a great tasting. This time a vertical of Vietti wines.
On somewhat of a lark, I invited Luca Currado to join us.
It turned out he was going to be in the US at this time and was able to join us.
This made for such a wonderful evening tasting these great wines made by Luca,
his father Alfredo Currado, and his grandfather Mario Vietti.
Luca's commentary and passion added so much.
Click on any photo with a border for a larger view of that photo.
Some larger photos contain more image as well as much higher resolution
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The Venue
Ai Fiori is Michelin-starred restaurant on the second floor of the
Langham Place Hotel:
The food at Ai Fiori was outstanding. The service was impeccable.
In particular, Sommelier Colin Thoreen took great care of us.
Here he is his pouring the Champagne with Eric happily looking on:
We had a round 12-top in a private room called the Vernazza Room:
[Photo from the Ai Fiori website.]
The menu. Eric did a great job working with the restaurant so that
everyone would be happy with at least one choice for each course.
Dinner
All the red wines:
Starters
Amuse Bouche: Pea purée with marcona almonds and mint.
This truly amused my bouche.
-
NV David Leclapart Champagne Premier Cru L'Apôtre Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut -
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
I believe this was a gift from Eric's boss in honor of his 40th birthday.
It was much appreciated. Complex frothy lemon custard nose.
Earthy palate still has a brightness to it. Great length.
This was really impressive. (94 points)
-
2015 Vietti Roero Arneis - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Roero
Pop & pour. Crisp, blight nose. Fresh and delicious.
A very food-friendly white with plenty of flavor.
A little unfair to serve this after the Champagne. (89 points)
Flight 1: Base Barolo and a Bussia
Pancetta di Maiale: Braised Pork Belly, Charred Spring Onions, Pickled Hen of the Woods, Romesco.
[Romesco is a nut & red pepper-based sauce from Tarragona, Catalonia.]
Every bite of this was exquisite.
This flight was supposed to be only the base Barolo, but the 82 Bussia was included
because the labels of that era were so confusing. You have to look at the fine print
on the lower right of the label on the 1982 to see "Località Bussia".
-
1954 Vietti Barolo Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 1pm.] What a special way to get the main event started.
For me, a rare birth-year wine. For Luca, a wine made by his grandfather, Mario Vietti,
that he had never tasted before. And the wine is beautiful. Subtle sour cherry nose.
Sweet red fruit in the mouth with a hint of dirt on the long, elegant finish.
Very special. Thanks Jamie! (94 points)
-
1961 Vietti Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 1pm.] Unusual youthful color. Sweet red fruit up front.
Sour cherry on the finish. Curious. I'm not sure this is authentic. (NR)
-
1967 Vietti Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 2pm.] Muted smoky red fruit nose. Juicy, youthful, and complex.
Explodes on the palate. Just a great bottle of this wine.
Glad I have 2 more from the same source. Went back to it later.
Continues to open and expand. A great bottle! (96 points)
-
1970 Vietti Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 1pm.] Mature, slightly sherried.
Tasty, but on its way down hill. Drink up. (91 points)
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1982 Vietti Barolo Bussia - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted for 1.5 hours around 3pm.] Earthy, complex, red fruit nose.
Gorgeous on the palate with plums and spice.
Another complex wine from Alfredo Currado. (94 points)
Note that the first two say "Mario Vietti" in the lower right
and the last one says "Località Bussia" in the lower right.
The photo on the right is the back label of the 1954, which says roughly
"This wine was bottled on the day that Stefano was born."
Luca, who had never seen this wine before, said, "Do I have a brother I don't know?"
But we theorized that this was bottled for a particular customer who had a son named Stefano.
Flight 2: Barbaresco Masseria
Agnolotti: Braised Veal Parcels, Pesto Rosso, Balsamic.
Delicious! And well-matched to the wine.
Impressive showing for this Barbaresco.
Note that Masseria is a hamlet inside the Cottá vineyard.
These grapes were purchased from Eugenio Voghera for all these wines.
This is not the source of Vietti Masseria today, which is now a "fantasy name"
attached to their Barbaresco from various sources.
-
1974 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double decanted around 8am.] Soft, complex, another stunning wine at its peak.
Just goes on and on. Wow. (96 points)
-
1985 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double decanted around 11am.] Soft sweet bright cherry fruit in the nose and the mouth.
A delicious and interesting wine. (93 points)
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1989 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double decanted around 8am.] Rich, powerful, complex, ripe.
Just a classic 1989, powerful, structured, complex, and at this point still fairly young.
Would benefit from another 5–10 years. (95 points)
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1990 Vietti Barbaresco Masseria - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double decanted around 10am.] Softer and sweeter than the 1989, but still has a fair
amount of structure. Also quite youthful. Drink now–2025. (93 points)
Everyone is listening intently to Luca.
Going around the table from my left:
Luca, Eric, Jamie, Ali, Iggy, Michael Z, Marc, Ben, Jon, Michael G, Tony.
Flight 3: Barolo Rocche
Tagliata: Dry Aged Strip Loin, Pommes Purée, Spring Onion, Bordelaise.
A good pairing with the big structured Rocches.
The flight of the night in very tough competition. The class of Rocche comes through
clearly in a broad range of top vintages.
-
1978 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 2pm.] Gorgeous complex expansive.
What a terrific wine from this great vintage. Long finish. (95 points)
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1985 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 1pm.] Muted nose, but expressive in the mouth with lots of
sweet red fruit. Delicious to drink now. (93 points)
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1989 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 1pm.] Light sour cherry nose does not let on what power and
flavor await. Simply stunning in the mouth.
Expansive and complex with a finish that goes on forever. An OMG wine.
Greatness right here. My WOTN. (98 points)
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2013 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Per Luca's request, this received 2 hours of slow o shortly before the dinner.
No decant.] Unbelievable young wine. Enormous structure and richness, yet an ethereal
sense of lightness. What a future! (98–100 points)
Flight 4: Barolo Lazzarito plus the 2013 Ravera
Cheese Plate: Torta de Cabra Sudado, Brebirousse d'Argental, Quince Paste, House-Made Crackers.
Aside from the off bottle of 1998, I thought Lassarito showed well.
It is generally assumed to be the most modern of their Barolos, but
I did not pick up overt oak, even in the 2004.
The 2013 Ravera is really special.
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1989 Vietti Barolo Lazzarito - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted around 1pm.] Wonderfully perfumed. Expansive and stunning.
Another great 89 with great upside potential. (95–?? points)
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1998 Vietti Barolo Lazzarito - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted for one hour around 9am.] Oaky nose. Dirty on the palate.
I don't think it is a good bottle. (NR/flawed)
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2004 Vietti Barolo Lazzarito - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double decanted for about 2.5 hours around 3pm.] Another stunning powerful wine.
Our only wine in this tasting from the oughts shows how much these classic wines
need a lot of time. This one needs at least a decade. (94–97 points)
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2013 Vietti Barolo Ravera - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Per Luca's request, this received 2 hours of slow o shortly before the dinner.
No decant.] Stunning perfume. Rich, powerful, ethereal.
Just an incredible young wine. Hard to choose between this and the 2013 Rocche.
This one has a bit more perfume, that one has a bit more structure.
Both are potentially 100 point wines. (98–100 points)
Summary
What can I say? One of the most special tastings I've ever attended.
Great food, great service, great wine, great friends, and the one and only Luca Currado,
one of the world's most expressive and passionate winemakers.
One more highlight in an evening of highlights. This day was Eric's 40th birthday,
so the restaurant surprised him with a (gluten-free) dessert with a candle.
Photos with the Famous Winemaker
Taken by Jon with my phone. Do I look happy?
My tasting notes posted from
CellarTracker.
Eric Guido's notes on this dinner are
here.
Vinous thread on this dinner is
here. [Subscription required.]
All original content © Ken Vastola
