Sublime No. 4 - All Good Things Come to an End

By the time the intermezzo was served last Saturday night, I had already downed seven glasses of wine. Now they were short glasses, under three ounces a pour, but still, I have to admit that from this point on my judgment was impaired. I have only the most general recollection of what transpired from this point of the evening on.

Our fifth course was braised short ribs, which have made an interesting transition from immigrant food, something my grandmother might have prepared, to haute cuisine. The pairing was Barolo, the prestige wine from Piedmont, made also from the Nebbiolo grape. The aforementioned article, discussing the six most exclusive wines of Italy, led off with Monfortino, a Barolo that is not produced every year, but only when the vintage is good enough to justify making the wine. Thus, so said this article, all Monfortinos are exceptional. And for the beef course, our host served up three Monfortino Barolos, 1934, 1978, and 1997. The ’34 was way past prime, thin, light pink, and really tasting more like a digestif than a dinner wine. Interesting, and noteworthy for its age. Susan thought it got better as it aired, but for me it remained a novelty. I thought the other two were great, but our host proclaimed the ’97 too young, too green. Apparently Barolos, especially great Barolos, need a long time for the tannins to soften. He thought the 78 was just great. Who was I to argue? Another exceptional wine.

Lastly, we tasted the wine for which I had waited all evening, Amarone. Amarone is made from Valpolicella grapes that are left to dry out before pressing. The result is a juice that is concentrated, in flavor, in texture, and in higher alcohol. The conventional wisdom is that Amarone is so strong that it overpowers anything, with the one exception of strong cheese. So we drank a 1995 Quintarelli Amarone with our cheese course. Quintarelli is one of the two most famous producers of Amarone, so once again we had the chance to drink the very best, the most exclusive wine of this variety. I found the Amarone to be unique, in a sense unlike any of the other wines I have ever tasted. It was thick and concentrated, but not at all sweet. It had the rich texture of a dessert wine, but it was dry, clearly a food wine. I think there must be dishes that can stand up to Amarone – rich meats with strong flavored sauces or glazes. Osso Bucco for example. But it will be hard to discover these pairings, because one does not often find Amarone on wine lists. Let’s consider it a project for the future.

So there you have it. In one evening we drank the mythical Fiorano, four different 100 point wines, three Gajas in one perfect course, the best Brunello and Barolo that Italy has to offer, and an exceptional Amarone. I can’t imagine I’ll have the opportunity to duplicate this experience, unless of course, our host chooses to open his cellar for another charity auction. Speaking of that, he took us on a tour of the cellar after dinner, but that’s another story altogether.