Alto Piemonte @ The Gander Restaurant, NYC 8/8/2017

Alto Piemonte @ The Gander Restaurant, NYC (8/8/2017)

Ed Zimmerman organized this dinner on the spur of the moment. With only a few days to organize, it is amazing how really well everything turned out. A great group of people, a great group of wines, and excellent food at The Gander. The Gander is at 15 W 18th Street, just east of 6th Avenue. It is self-described as Chef Jesse Schenker’s new American restaurant located in Manhattan’s Flatiron district.

The exceptional group of dinner attendees included Evan Bienstock (Ed's Partner in the Tech Group at Lowenstein Sandler), Ryan Burke (Former Special Assistant to President Obama for Economic Policy, the White House), Christopher Calicott (Managing Director, Trammell Venture Partners, Austin, Texas, and part time wine writer), Charles Curtis (Author, Consultant, Fine Wine Appraiser), Joe Eagan (Bon Vivant and disliker of 2005 Barolo), Ben Goldberg (Computer Science Professor at NYU and software consultant), Josh Greene (Editor & Publisher, Wine & Spirits Magazine), Stephanie Johnson (Italian Wine Editor, Wine & Spirits Magazine), Ken Vastola (the Fine Wine Geek), Jamie Wolff (Owner, Chambers Street Wines).

For each flight, I tasted the wines first without food, then with food. Since there were 6 flights and 4 courses, I stretched the lentils and the steak over two flights each. The dinner started just before 8pm and lasted till about 11pm.

Alto Piemonte refers to the upper or northern part of the Piedmont region north of Turin. This distinquishes it from the currently more famous regions of southern Piedmont such as Barolo, Barbaresco, and other areas around Alba and Asti. Today, the most famous wines of Alto Piemonte are the DOCGs of Gattinara and Ghemme and the DOC of Boca which are all in Colline Novaresi (Novara Hills in English) in the province of Novara. There is also the DOC of Carema produced in the province of Torino west of the Colline Novaresi where the best known producer is Ferrando. But back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s many of the best wines were simply labeled "Spanna", the Alto Piemonte name for the Nebbiolo grape.

Arguably the best producer then and now is Antonio Vallana e Figlio. Twelve of the 22 reds we tasted were Vallana wines. The Vallana family has been in the wine business since the 1700s. You can find much more information on this winery in my write-up of this 2013 tasting of their wines.

For each image, I have posted a compressed (and possibly cropped) version. Click on it to see the original, much larger image.

Entering The Gander:

The downstairs private room (from their website):

Starter
Tasted during greetings and introductions.

NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée - France, Champagne
[From one of 3 half bottles.] Dry and complex with a nice full yeasty flavor. (92 points)

Josh & Stephanie look on as Joe opens bottles
and Ed arranges flights:

Flight 1: Youngest Wines
Warm Lentils With Poached Egg, Mushroom, & Pecorino.

(Others had Tomatoes, Corn, & Basil.)

2008 Antoniolo Gattinara Osso San Grato - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
[Pop and pour.] Big smoky red fruit nose. Rich, tannic, and expressive in the mouth. Very good potential here, but I would give it at least another 5 years. (92 points)
2012 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Campi Raudii - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Colline Novaresi
[Double-decanted around 10am.] Muted bright cherry nose. Expansive all the way to the back of my mouth. Still quite young, but lots of potential here. Excellent balance of richness and austerity. (92-94 points)
2013 Colombera & Garella Lessona Pizzaguerra - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Lessona
[Pop and pour.] Lovely perfume of strawberries and violets. Cherry spice in the mouth. Exotic and delicious now. (92 points)

Flight 2: Things that didn't fit elsewhere
Same Warm Lentils With Poached Egg, Mushroom, & Pecorino.

1978 Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo Ghemme - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Ghemme
[Double-decanted about 2 hours before dinner.] Smoke and black fruit in the nose. Sweet cherry up front. Still tannic and tough. Not sure it has the fruit to last. Or maybe it needed a longer decant? (92 points)
1970 Ferrando Carema White Label (Etichetta Bianca) - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Carema
[Double-decanted about 2 hours before dinner.] Tar and black fruit nose with a hint of something floral. Gorgesous and full in the mouth with a long cherry finish. This is in amazing shape considering the vintage and that it is the white label. Great showing. (93 points)
1978 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Barbera Piemonte - Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
[Double-decanted around 10am.] Smoky black fruit nose. Funky and a bit tart in the mouth. Tasty, but I might have expected a little more given the vintage. (88 points)

Flight 3: Gattinara
Spaghetti with Mushrooms, bottarga, & Pecorino (Everyone had this dish.)

1982 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Gattinara - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
[Slow-O'ed for 2 hours before serving. Bottle showed signs of seepage.] Dull smoky nose. Very tart on the finish. Very disappointing for this wine. Probably not a good bottle. (NR)
1976 Effevi Gattinara Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
[Slow-O'ed for 2 hours before serving.] Juicy plum nose. Complex and delicious in the mouth. Really well made wine from a so-so vintage. (93 points)
1978 Travaglini Gattinara - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
[Pop and pour.] Nose of tar and poo. Tart sour cherry. This should be better. Maybe it still needs more time. (85 points)
1974 Dessilani Gattinara Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
[Slow-O'ed for 2 hours before serving.] Dirty nose. Tart and sour. (78 points)

Flight 4: More Gattinara and Two Others
Dry-Aged 14oz Strip Steak, Cauliflower, & Caramelized Onions.

(Others had Salmon with Kale, Mushroom, & Carrot.)

1964 Antoniolo Piemonte Nebbiolo Spanna del Piemonte Santa Chiara - Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
[Double-decanted around noon.] Tart and smoky red fruit. Appealing and simple. (88 points)
1961 Nervi Gattinara Riserva del Titolare - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
[Double-decanted around noon.] Horrible fishy nose and the taste is even worse. Several people called this "the anchovy wine". Really unappealing. Clearly a defective bottle. (NR)
1958 Nervi Gattinara - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Gattinara
[Double-decanted around noon.] Gorgeous, rich complex and expansive. Licorice, red and black fruit. Long and complex. One of my wines of the evening. (95 points)
1980 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Boca - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Boca
[Slow-O'ed for 1.5 hours before serving. This was moved from the last flight to this flight since we only had 4 glasses each and no room for more on the table. See the next flight for photos.] Muted dirty nose, but yummy and tart in the mouth. Might have benefited from more air. (91 points)

Flight 5: 1960's and 1970's Vallana Spanna
Still with the Dry-Aged 14oz Strip Steak, Cauliflower, & Caramelized Onions.

1971 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Cantina Castello di Montalbano - Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
[Decanted about 2 hours before serving.] Black fruit nose. Thick and rich black fruit with a volcanic rock quality that just screams Aglianico. Delicious, whatever it is. (93 points)
1971 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Boca - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Boca
[Double-decanted around noon.] Rich, complex, chocolate. Rich and intense. Again, shockingly so for 46 year old "nebbiolo". (92 points)
1964 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Traversagna - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Colline Novaresi
[Slow-O'ed for 1.5 hours before serving.] Big black fruit. Young and delicious. Not much complexity, but very nice to drink tonight. (92 points)
1961 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Cantina Castello di Montalbano - Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
[Slow-O'ed for 2 hours before serving.] Rich black fruit nose. Ridiculously young for a 1961. Licorice and black fruit in the mouth. Medium length, but very tasty. (92 points)

The freakishly dark color of these old "nebbiolo" wines:

Flight 6: 1950's and 1960's Vallana Spanna
Assorted Murray’s Cheese Plate:

1967 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Cantina del Camino - Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
[Double-decanted around 10am.] Rich, smoky, jammy, red and black fruits in the nose and mouth. An amazing wine. Another that makes me think there could have been Aglianico in here. (94 points)
1958 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Colline Novaresi
[Double-decanted around noon.] The smokey complex nose soars from the glass. Full and complex. Gorgeous Nebbiolo wine. (94 points)
1955 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Campi Raudii - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Colline Novaresi
[Double-decanted around 10am.] Heavenly complex nose, but in the mouth there is something off. Some poo? Some TCA? I have had great bottles of this. This was not one. :( (NR)
1954 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Riserva Catulus Campi Raudii et Catuli Ara - Italy, Piedmont, Piemonte DOC
[Double-decanted around 10am.] Ethereal nose. Complex with tar and roses and violets. This seems like 100% Nebbiolo. A glorious wine and special to me as a birth year wine that is fully alive. WOTN for me. (95 points)

Conclusion

A fascinating tasting. There is so much to learn about these wines. A big thank you to Ed for organizing and inviting me. I found it very educational. I thought the food was excellent and went well with the wine. I only wish I had more time to spend with every guest.

I had heard the rumor about Aglianico in the old Vallana wines many times, but this tasting was the first where I felt several wines from the 60s and 70s really tasted more like old Aglianico more than old Nebbiolo. So I checked with Carole Meredith about how old of a wine she and her team could assess from a DNA perspective to ascertain the grape varietals comprising the wine. She said their current technology can assess DNA for the first five years or so of the wine’s life. She's retired, but she has a former post-doc at the U. of Siena still working on it, so maybe some day…

Neck Tags

Three of the older Vallana bottles still had the original hanging neck tags.

1964 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Traversagna: