I arrive in Monforte d’Alba late afternoon on Monday. It is a beautiful day, sunny, wispy clouds, much cooler than Rome. I pass Nino (my landlord while I’m here) just in front of his family’s restaurant – he’s about to show some other guests their apartment in a building his family owns a hundred yards up in the village. I settle down on a bench next to the church to wait for him. When he says 5 minutes, I know he means 20. I catch up on some calls and enjoy the late afternoon sun.
22 minutes later, Nino pulls up in a cloud of dust; I didn’t know that Fiat minivans had such good brakes. (ahem). “Ciao young man!” – his standard greeting, which he knows annoys me because I am his elder … by about three months. He gives me my keys – “you know, your room” the usual apartment, and I’m off. The view, as always is spectacular.
Dinner with S, daughter of a famous, famous Barolisti – we discuss everything except work – i.e., wine. Instead, we talk about books, art, cars, dating, travels, skiing, philosophy, the joys and difficulties of working with family, great meals, cooking, where to buy the best olive oil, prosciutto and salumi, where we’ll eat on Friday, her sister Elena, and just how freakin’ good that last bite was of whatever it was that was last enjoyed. She takes me to Marsupino, a little restaurant in Briaglia, a village past Dogliani, about 30 minutes by car. We feast on tajarin (a local hand-cut linguine), a fried egg with tartufo bianco (white truffle season!), fried porcinis (they grow like weeds here) and a veal flank braised in nebbiolo. All good, especially washed down with a bottle of Bruno Paillard Rosé Champagne and a 1998 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo “Canubbi-Le Coste.”
Back at the apartment, I play with making time exposures of the full moon.
nv Bruno Paillard, Champagne Brut Rosé
Pale salmon color. Tiny bubbles. Nose of muted cherries, earth, peach, framed by a fresh-baked bready yeastiness. You can really smell and taste the Pinot Noir in this mix – it comes across as the aroma and flavor of really fresh strawberries. The mousse is luxurious, very nice. (3.5-nb)
1998 Giuseppe Rinaldi, Barolo “Brunate - Le Coste”
Beppe Rinaldi, nicknamed “Citrico” for his jolly disposition, is one of the best traditional producers of Barolo. He disdains the use of any technique that his father didn’t have, going so far as to not force his red wines into malolactic fermentation until spring, when the warm breezes naturally heat the wine to the temperature that gets the second fermentation going. This bottling is beginning to come out of its shell and blossom. ON the nose, deep black cherry and rose petals emerge, with graphite and violets, some soft spices, leather and earth. There’s an appealing tobacco aspect to this, but perhaps this is my memory of Beppe blowing his cigar smoke at me while tasting. On the palate, the flavors have harmonized well – the fruit, acids, tannins and alcohol are beautifully integrated and balanced. The tannins are smooth an ripe, and the finish carries for at least 20-25 seconds. Lovely. Drink now-2018 (4.5-nb)
Comments