Gala Dinner at La Festa del Piemonte
at The Pool Restaurant, NYC (4/1/2022)
This was the Friday evening gala dinner at
Antonio Galloni's Vinous Media's
La Festa del Piemonte 2022.
I sat at the Vietti table with Luca Currado and Elena Penna of the
Vietti Winery.
You can find a lot information and photos of this winery from
my visit with Luca & Elena at their winery
in 2016.
The wines came one after another, so I have grouped them under the courses with which I tasted them.
Where I know something about the decanting, I have included it. In most other cases,
the wine was decanted just before the dinner or it was brought to the dinner already decanted.
I have no way of knowing which.
Sections
Part 2 of La Festa del Piemonte 2022 was a Morning Tasting of the
New Release of 2017 Barolos the next day in the The Pool Restaurant.
I did not attend the morning tasting this time.
I went to the first five Gala dinners, then skipped the next two.
Here are my notes and photos for those that I attended:
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 Venue and the Reception
Arriving at the venue which used to be the historic
Four Seasons Restaurant
in the Seagram Building.
It is now two separate restaurants:
The Pool and
The Grill,
under the managment of the
Major Food Group.
The entrance is on 52nd Street:
Reception
Grady Gorsuch of
Marta Restaurant
was pouring
Champagne as we entered The Pool:
My friend
Mikhail Lipyanskiy
was the official photographer for this event:
Jack Gordon and me. We've met at multiple wine events and eventually
figured out that I graduated high school with his brother Brian.
The Vietti Table
Sitting down at our table:
Each table was assigned a primary sommelier.
We were quite fortunate to have
Marquita Levy
of the exclusive Crown Club in the
Barclays Center.
The Crown Club
is another project of the
Major Food Group.
She also works with Jeff Porter at
Volcanic Selections.
In the second photo, that's Nick Lasotto (Sorriso Market) left, Don Muraca (MS Walker) right.
Both from Boston.
Antonio stops by our table:
Luca chats with Hristo Zisovski (Wilson-Daniels), while Elena looks on:
Jeremy Noye and Anny Chen of Morrell:
The Red Wines and the Food
As far as I know, the red wines were double decanted around 5:30pm, except where noted.
Dinner started about 7:30pm. The last wines were served around 11pm.
Antonio gets things started:
First Course: Prosciutto with Mustard Fruits
This was delicious.
-
2012 Vietti Barolo Riserva Villero - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[From magnum. Brought by Luca & Elena.] Powerful primary nose of black and red fruit.
Massively tannic with oodles of black fruit and spice. Still very young.
A long and glorious future. (95–98 points)
-
2001 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought by Jeremy & Anny of Morrell. Double-decanted around 1pm.]
Ethereal nose of plums and blackberries. Rich and expansive.
A wow wine with a super long finish. (98 points)
-
2011 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Rich, juicy, backward. Not very expressive at this point. Needs time. (91 points)
Second Course: Mushroom Risotto
Not the prettiest dish, but it sure was delicious.
-
1954 Vietti Barolo Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought by me. Double-decanted at 5pm.] Lovely nose of dark red fruits, tar, and mulch.
Tart, juicy red fruit in the mouth with a long finish.
A joy to share this wine with Luca and Elena since it was made by Luca's grandfather,
Mario Vietti. (93 points)
-
2010 Vietti Barolo Brunate - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[From magnum. Brought by Luca & Elena.] Still quite young and powerful.
Rich and somewhat monolithic at this point. Will benefit from more time in the cellar.
(94 points)
-
1937 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
No nose. Sour cherries. Long finish. A very good wine, but I can't believe it's really a 1937.
Way too young for that.
-
1978 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero di Castiglione Falletto -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought by Jeremy & Anny of Morrell. Double-decanted around 1pm.]
Glorious from the get-go. Still opening up. Very long finish of black fruit and spice cake.
Classic Giacosa. (95 points)
Third Course: Ricotta Tortellini
Tasty. I just gobbled these up.
-
1980 Vietti Barolo Rocche - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought by me. Double-decanted at 5pm.] Smokey red fruit nose. Rich and still a bit tannic.
Amazing wine for such a weak vintage. Has to be one of the top wines in 1980. (95 points)
-
1995 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[From magnum.] Big bouquet of red fruit and chocolate. Still young and tannic, but enjoyable now.
(94 points)
-
2011 Azienda Agricola Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[From magnum. Brought over by Valter Fissore from the next table.]
Gorgeous nose of fruit compote and spice.
Elegant, complex, long. (95 points)
-
1982 Filippo Sobrero & Figli Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought by Jeremy & Anny of Morrell. Double-decanted around 1pm.]
Beautiful nose of ripe apples and red berries.
A stunning wine in beautiful shape. (94 points)
Fourth Course: Filet Mignon Florentine
This was very good except that the crusting on the steak was overpowering.
There was just too much black pepper.
-
1974 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought by Jeremy & Anny of Morrell. Double-decanted around 1pm.]
Earthy, balanced, complex. Probably at its peak. (93 points)
-
1958 Fratelli Barale Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought by Jeremy & Anny of Morrell. Double-decanted around 1pm.]
Lovely red fruit nose, but the palate reeks of barrel mold. (55 points)
-
1958 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought by Jeremy & Anny of Morrell. Double-decanted around 1pm.]
Fragrant nose of dried red fruit and forest floor. Elegant. Medium length. No reason to hold.
(92 points)
Shared Sides with the steak: Sesame Spinach, Brussels Sprouts:
These were both delicious.
Fifth Course: Robiola Cheese
With Sea Salt Crackers & Gooseberry Jam:
-
1998 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought over by Eric Guido.] Lovely nose. Medium length. Nice. (90 points)
-
2007 Cappellano Barolo Piè Rupestris Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[From magnum. Brought over by Iggy Melito.]
Still quite young, but long and complex with rich berry fruit and tar.
Long life ahead. (94 points)
-
1978 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello -
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Brought over by Josh Leader.] Beautiful, ripe cherries. Elegant and long.
Just a gorgeous wine at its peak. (95 points)
-
2008 Dom Pérignon Champagne - France, Champagne
[Brought over by Hristo Zisovski from Wilson-Daniels who was sitting with Valter Fissore.]
Funny way to finish the evening, but I have to say this is a beautiful Champagne.
Long, complex, and classy AF. (95 points)
A Few People Pix
Lorenzo Scavino of Azelia poses with Erika Parjus (Domaine):
Giuseppe Vaira of G.D. Vajra chats with Jack Gordon:
Nicola Oberto of Trediberri chats with fans including Jack Kuo:
Swag
This was the first year that we had swag to take home.
Conclusion
Another wonderful evening with great wine, good food, and seeing old friends.
Tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.
All original content © Ken Vastola