Bartolo and Burlotto Cannubi and More @ Chez Goldberg, NYC, 2/1/2025

Bartolo and Burlotto Cannubi and More
@ Chez Goldberg, Greenwich Village, NYC, 2/1/2025

This was the Saturday evening of La Festa del Barolo. As has become a tradition, Ben and Wendy hosted a group of friends for a wonderful meal and wine dinner. The food was wonderful as always. Dinner started around 6pm because Aldo and Milena Vaira were joining us, but had to leave for the airport by 7:30, so they got to share the first two courses with us. They also shared some wonderful stories.

The original idea for this evening was to pair Bartolo Mascarello Barolo (which comes in part from Cannubi) with Burlotto's Cannubi. Unfortunately, the guy who was going to bring most of the Burlotto had to cancel. Still, it was a great evening of food, wine, and great friends.

This was the second night of this incredible weekend of wine, food, and friends. The first evening was a Bruno Giacosa Dinner at the Ci Siamo Restaurant in NYC. Given the din in the restaurant, that dinner was more focused on the wine. This night, in the peaceful setting of Ben & Wendy's home, the focus was more on the people and conversation. The wine and food were still excellent, but this was something more.

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Dinner Prep
Dinner the previous evening ran quite late so I slept past 9am.
But Ben and Wendy were up and working already when I got up.

The first photo is Ben's prep for the sauce for the chicken.
The second photo is the fantastic latte that Ben made for me.

A little later, Wendy was slicing the Jamon Iberico de Bellota that Ben had received
as a birthday present. And Ben's homemade bread had come out of the oven.

The table is set:

Starter
With Cape Cod Potato Chips.

1999 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année - France, Champagne
[Pop and pour.] Sweet, nutty nose. Rich, mature, complex. It's rare for me to have a vintage Champagne with 25 years on it, but I love old Champagne! This is a beautiful wine, expansive and complex. Goes well with potato chips. (94 points)

Special Guests
Giuseppe Vaira and his parents, Aldo and Milena,
shared stories about the early days of the winery and their courtship.

Henry, Milena, Aldo.	Aldo, Giuseppe, Tom.
Milena, Aldo, Giuseppe.	Giuseppe, Tom, Todd.

Milena, Aldo, Giuseppe, Henry, Todd, Rob, Jamie, Wendy.

Kevin Natoli (right) is the North American Sales Manager at G.D. Vajra.
Here he is chatting with Jamie and Ben.

Course 1
Hand-Cut Jamon Iberico de Bellota (left), Prosciutto, & Speck, served with Ben's Homemade Bread. Heaven:

Flight 1: 2006 Vajra Freisa Kyè

2006 G.D. Vajra Langhe Freisa Kyè - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
[Opened, but not decanted, at 4:45pm.] Dark color. Noticeably darker than the 1999 or 2004 Bartolo. Sweet nose of red and black fruit. Lovely in the mouth with sweet red fruit and soft tannins. Beautiful. (93 points)

Course 2
Handmade Pappardelle with Wild Boar Ragu. This is so delicious:

Flight 2: 1999 and 2004 Bartolo

1999 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 2:30pm.] Gorgeous cherry nose. Sweet and spicy red fruit in the mouth. Great length. Another terrific 1999 Barolo. Drink now-2040. (95 points)
2004 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 2:30pm.] Surprisingly sweet and open for a 2004. A little more structure, but similar to the 1999. Another great wine that should drink well for 20 years or more. (95 points)

Enjoying the Pappardelle with the Vairas:

Flight 3: 2005 Bartolo and Burlotto

2005 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 1pm.] Gorgeous nose of red and black fruit and licorice. Big, rich, tannic, super long. Wow! Blind, I would have thought this would be the 2004 or 2001. (96–?? points)
2005 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 1pm.] Lovely nose of cherry vanilla. Silky but still tannic. Loads of cherries. A bit of oak showing. (93 points)

Course 3
Chicken Marsala with mushrooms and haricot verts. Yummy and great with the wines:

Flight 4: 2008 Bartolo and Burlotto

2008 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 1pm.] Stunning, sweet, black cherry nose. Expansive, with great length and structure and plenty of rich fruit. WOTN for me. Wow! If you have a bottle, give it a try. An amazing wine in an underrated vintage. (97 points)
2008 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Cannubi - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 1pm.] Muted nose of black cherries. Lots of tannin. Seems quite backward still. A tough pairing with the 2008 Bartolo which is so open right now. Give it at least another 5 years. (93–?? points)

After Mr. & Mrs. Vaira left for the airport, we spread out a bit:

Flight 5: 2004 Roagna Barbaresco Montefico

2010 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
[Double-decanted at 2:30pm.] Gorgeous nose of red fruit and forest floor. Sweet black cherries. Complex and expansive, but much more mature than one should expect from a 2010. Some at the table picked up hints of oxidation. This a lovely, but blind I would think it was the 1982 or 1985, it is that mature. Weird, but others have observed this in this particular wine. If you own this, don't wait to try it. (94 points)
2004 Roagna Barbaresco Montefico - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
[Double-decanted at 2:30pm.] Big black fruit nose with some licorice and roses. Strikingly complex and expansive. A terrific wine which has more in common with a Giacosa Asili than the other wines tonight. (96 points)

Dessert
Wendy's fabulous Chocolate Pavlova with Raspberries. It was hard not to take a second piece:

Conclusion
Great wines, great food, and great friends. That's what life is about. Another glorious evening.

All the reds:

My tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.