Neb Vinous 1996 Barolo & Barbaresco Dinner
@ L'Apicio, East Village, NYC, 6/15/2016

This group was started by Tony Kim through the discussion forum on Antonio Galloni's Vinous. We've been meeting semi-regularly to drink Nebbiolo for close to two years now.

We met at L'Apicio, 13 East First Street (between Second & Bowery) in the East Village at 6:30. Just a few blocks south of where the Fillmore East and Ratner's once reigned.

The food and the setting were perfect.

The tasting was blind in a somewhat unusual way. We all knew which 12 wines were in the tasting and which sets of 4 wines were grouped into a flight, but we did not know the order of the flights or the order of the wines within each flight. However, we did a reveal after each flight, so we had no idea which flight was Flight 1, but we knew that Flight 2 was either the Barbaresco or the Serralunga flight, and when we got to Flight 3, we knew it had to be the Serralunga flight (but again, not the order of the wines within the flight).


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 and are typically 3-4 MB.


L'Apicio is beautiful new restaurant from the same folks that brought us L'Artusi.
The warm modern interior was designed by Workshop/APD.
Here are a couple of photos of the interior from their website.
The area on the right in the photo on the right is of the space where we ate with the doors on the right open.

There are more photos of L'Apicio on the website of Workshop/APD.


Starter
Focaccia and Olive Oil:


Flight 1: Monforte d'Alba & Castiglione Falletto
Shared Apps (all so very good):
Charred Octopus with Fregola, Sopressata, Olives, and Lemon:
Tuscan Kale Caesar with Shaved Brussels Sprouts, Parmesan Vinaigrette, & Pickled Red Onions:
Anson Mills Polenta with a Ragu of Pennsylvania Mushrooms:
Balsamic Tomato Bruschetta: Marinated Cherry Tomatoes, Ricotta, and Torn Basil:
Arancini with Tomato Sauce:


Flight 2: Barbaresco
Shared Pasta Course (all great, but the Tajarin is to die for):
Gnocchi with Braised Rabbit Ragu, Sage, and English Peas:
Tajarin (Hand-Cut Fettucine) with Speck, Leeks, and Carbonara:
Spaghetti with Tomato, Basil, and Parmesan:
and a side of Meatballs (gratis):


Flight 3: Serralung d'Alba
New York Strip Steak with Summer Squash, Carrot Tops, and Dijon Glace.
The best steak I've had in a restaurant in a long time:


Summary

1996 is a great vintage. Many of the best wines still need time, but with air are now showing a lot of their potential.

Notes posted from CellarTracker.


People Photos

Ben, Iggy, Tony, Eric, Michael G:

Jamie, Marc, Jonathan, Michael Z, FWG:

 

 

All original content © Ken Vastola