Vinoteca Centro Storico with Bill Klapp, Piedmont, 7/5/2016

Dinner at Vinoteca Centro Storico with Bill Klapp
@ Via Roma 6, Serralunga d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy (7/5/2016)

After my wonderful visit to the Vietti Winery in Castiglione Falletto, I drove over to Serralunga d'Alba to meet up with Bill Klapp and have dinner at Vinoteca Centro Storico.

This was my second time having dinner with Bill, my first in Italy where he currently lives. The first was in 2007 in New York City. Bill is rather famous in the online wine community for his strong opinions and extraordinary ability to express them in writing.

Vinoteca Centro Storico is run by Alessio "Ciccio" Cighetti and his wife Stefania Saglietti. Stefania and her mother Silvana Aimasso do the cooking. Centro Storico is particularly well-known for its hand-sliced hams and its winelist. Not surprisingly, the winelist is very strong in the local wines. More surprising is the amazing depth of the list in Champagne and other sparkling wines. I found all the food to be exceptionally good. The pasta dishes were as good as any I had in my trip. The atmosphere is unusually casual for food and wine of this quality, which fits me just fine. I loved it so much, I came back for dinner here on my own the next evening, which was my last in the Langhe.

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

Here is the route I took from Castiglione Falletto to Serralunga d'Alba.
When I got to Serralunga, I went around the old town on the west side in
order to stop at a pharmacy. Then I entered the old town from the south:

Views of Serralunga d'Alba from the north:

The castle of Serralunga d'Alba was built between 1340 (the year in which Pietrino Falletti became the Marquis of Serralunga) and 1357. Since 1949 it has been owned by the Italian State and is now managed by the Barolo & Castles Foundation.

Getting closer:

Farmacia Rudino Dr. Maria Rina is down in the back:

The lady pharmacist was very helpful. She spoke no English, so she called her son on the phone who translated for me.
Left photo © Google Maps.

Then I drove through the old town to the center and parked by the retaining wall of the base of the castle,
which can be seen on the right in the last of these 6 photos from Google Street View:

When I came in from taking pictures, Bill was already at our table and
Alessio was opening the 1978 G. Rinaldi Barolo that Bill brought from his cellar.

On the right is a bottle of 1967 Luigi Calissano Barolo Riserva Speciale,
which Bill brought as a gift for me. In spite of his curmudgeonly reputation
he really is quite a generous guy. He even insisted on paying for dinner!

Alessio is famous for his hand-sliced hams:

D'Osvaldo Prosciutto di Cormòns (left, made near the border with Slovenia) and Joselito Pata Negra from Spain:

2015 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Verduno Pelaverga - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Verduno Pelaverga
Pop and pour off the list. Gorgeous nose of flowers and spice. Quite exotic. Smooth and silky in the mouth with a cornucopia of exotic flavors like red and orange fruits, cloves, cardamom, and pepper. Nice summer wine served cool. Goes better with the hams than the Barolo. (89 points)

Bill and Alessio checking the sediment and color in the 1978 G. Rinaldi Barolo:

1978 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Pop & pour. Big smoky, slightly dirty black fruit nose. Rich, dark, complex black fruit and tar in the mouth. Very earthy with black truffles, licorice, and tar on the palate. Still quite backward. Unfortunately, the wine was shaken on its way to the restaurant, so there is lots of sediment suspended in the wine. Still, its class and character show through. (93 points)

Peperoni con Paté di Tonno (Tuna in Bell Pepper):