New York at Christmas time is a treat, and the same can be said about a meal at the midtown East restaurant Il Gattopardo, which specializes in southern Italian cuisine. I had the opportunity to attend a wine media lunch there where we sampled a wide range of wines from Abruzzo during the main courses as well as a trio of sweet wines of Bordeaux with dessert.
The
alluring combination of quality dry and sweet wines from two different EU countries
is part of the Charming Taste of Europe promotional program, which doesn’t
limit its celebration of European wine to a single area.
While
some Abruzzo wines are not as well-known as those of Tuscany or Piedmont, their wallet-friendly
prices, delicious flavor profiles, and intriguing indigenous grapes should put this Italian region on wine lovers' radar.
Our
meal began with one such variety – the lively Pecorino grape. The Poderi Constantini
Antonio Abruzzo Pecorino Superiore
2020 was a
crisp wine with dried herbs on the palate, as well as notes of chamomile and a
touch of minerality. Pecorino is a food-friendly white with a unique flavor
profile -- worth seeking out as an alternative to Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
With the
first course of spaghetti alla Chitarra,
we sampled a white wine from the Trebbiano grape, the Masciarelli Tenute
Agricole, Marina Cvetic, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Riserva 2019, which had a crisp nose
reminiscent of fresh cut celery with sage, green melon, and minerality on the
palate. We also tried a rosata, the Valori, Abbruzo Talamonti Cerasuolo Rose
2020. This had more heft than many roses with a nose of cranberry, good structure,
and tart fruit flavors.
The second course of
patate maritate (potatoes with sausage), was paired with the Francesco Cirelli
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2019, a biodynamic wine made in amphora. All Montepuliciano d'Abruzzo wines must contain at least 85% of Montepulciano grapes. This had powerful
black fruit and balsamic vinegar aromas and deep flavors of black plums and
black pepper, as well as perceptible tannin.
The flavorful fish soup
course -- “brodetto alla Vastese” – needed robust wine to match it, and the answer was two substantial reds. The Cantina Frentana Montepulicano d’Abruzzo
“Rubesto” 2017 was a big wine with blackberry and caramel on the nose and lots
more blackberries on the palate. The last Abruzzo wine was the Podere Castorani
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Casauria Riserva 2015. This wine had a savory rosemary
nose and dried cherries dusted with sage on the palate. This wine is truly made
with care – it’s harvested late (in November) and has a long maceration
period of up to 30 days to increase complexity.
Cheers
to the Charming Taste of Europe for showcasing a large selection of delicious
Italian and French wines in a fabulous, fun lunchtime tasting. The wines we tried at Il Gattopardo from Abruzzo
and Bordeaux are certainly worthy of your attention in the new year.
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