Feasting on Italian Wines and Cheeses

2 January 2019:

Happy New Year!

Continuing with my recent love affair with Italian wines, I decided to dedicate a drinks party to Italian wines. So why not New Year’s Eve?! And to pair with the wines, I had ordered some fine Italian cheeses and cold cuts, including the very addictive truffle ham! More on the cheeses as you scroll down.

I tried to cover Italy from north to south as much as possible. The verdict is clear that Italy is a great producer of fine wines, with a tremendous diversity in styles that could suit different palates, thanks to the number of indigenous varieties, the range of soils and climates and local customs. I firmly believe the local food has a lot to do with the local wine styles.

Amongst the whites, the Timorasso Derthona by Massa probably won the all-round applause from the tasters, delivering a point of difference in terms of flavours and texture. A beautiful food wine showing honey and almond notes at this age and a smooth texture. Suavia's Monte Carbonare was an interesting showing of Garganega, with just a hint of residual off-dryness at the finish. All classic wine drinkers gravitated towards Frescobaldi's Pomino Benefizio in the familiar Chardonnay territory. The Argiolas Vermentino di Sardegna showed lovely herbal notes but the alcohol was a little on the high side.

 

As for the reds, all the 1997 bottles delivered great finesse, especially Robeto Voerzio's Barolo Brunate, the Tignanello (in magnum) showed class and harmony and the velvety texture of the Pelago (also in magnum) belies a surge of vivacity and strength that could see the wine through another decade or more. The San Leonardo was my quiet ‘Italian’ – it gathered expressiveness with time and could easily be my favourite wine of the evening. The Quintarelli Valpolicella was a quirky one to like but still found a number of admirers. The Poggio Antico Brunello Altera was a firm favourite amongst those seeking power, strength and vivacity. It was luscious and beautifully balanced at the same time. The Graci Etna Rosso was no shrinking violet and impressed all by its freshness and purity of 100% Nerello Mascalese and lack of oak treatment. The Taurasi by Terredora di Paolo was beautifully made and drinking perfectly at this age, still showing some violet character, but with some tertiary characters kicking in. (Full wine list at end of blog)

 

Now coming onto the cheeses, they were all amazing! Let’s start with the ones we might know a bit better.

 

From bottom left: Taleggio DOP, Beppino Occelli Cusie al Malto d'Orzo e Whisky, Castelmagno DOP Stagionato 3 mesi, Pecorino Riserva del Fondatore, Il Fiorino, Parmigiano Reggiano DOP 36 mesi, Gorgonzola Dolce DOP al Cucchiaio.

Taleggio DOP: This is a raw cow milk cheese produced on the mountains of Val Taleggio, Lombardia. The fresh cheese is washed to give the cheese its characteristic orange rind (with an ivory springy paste) and sweet pungent aromas. It is made with unpasteurised milk, giving the cheese a high level of flavour complexity. The pungency is more pronounced on the nose than on the palate. The creamy texture suggests a buttery sweetness in the flavours, with a tanginess and floral character. It is a gorgeous cheese to be eaten on its own, paired with Timorasso, a Nebbiolo d’Alba or a 1997 Barolo Brunate!, or melted in cooking.

The Gorgonzola Dolce DOP al Cucchiaio was absolutely heavenly. This cow milk blue cheese from Lombardia/Piemonte was rich and luxuriant. Once settled into room temperature, the creamy texture with just the delicate blue mould character simply blended into one buttery herbal dollop coating the palate with its deliciousness. I did not try this with any wine, but I could imagine a dessert wine or a Demi-Sec Champagne if you can get hold of one!

Known as the King of Piemonte cheeses, Castelmagno DOP is a cheese with a long history and a monastic origin owing the name to San Magno. Records from 1277 showed that rental of pastureland was settled with wheels of Castelmagno. In the 18th Century, it was regularly served in famous restaurants in Paris and London. Typically made with cow’s milk, but sometimes can have goat or sheep milk added. This farmstead version has been aged for 3 months (Stagionato 3 mesi) and it shows a grey rind, with an ivory coloured paste that is firm and crumbly, with herbal, floral and mineral notes. There is a long aftertaste that reminds one of a damp cellar. I paired this with the Barolo and it was marriage made in heaven.

Even more impressive was the Pecorino Riserva del Fondatore by Caseificio Il Fiorino. This award-winning Tuscan Pecorino was simply divine. It had strong and intense flavours of pineapple, grassy and herbal notes, with a persistent finish. This is a very balanced cheese, with a velvety richness that just made it so much more special. I thought the Brunello was superb with this!

The Parmigiano Reggiano DOP Stravecchio (36 months) was divinely paired with the vintage champagne. It tasted better with the 2007 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne than the drier, more mineral and chalky 2002 Jacquesson Dizy-Corne Bautray (in magnum). This cheese from Emilia-Romagna needs no introduction. This version from Agricola Giansanti di Muzio was exceptional, so packed with flavours, velvety smooth and yet nutty and spicy and the saltiness was so well integrated.

The pièce de résistance was the Beppino Occelli Cusie al Malto d’Orzo e Whisky. This nutty and piquant cheese had this most interesting appearance of a barley studded rind, and a firm but easily crumbled paste, the colour of milk coffee. Cusie is a Piemontese expression for “that which there is”. So the Cusie is usually made with whatever milk available at the time of production. However, typically it would start with milk from Alpine cows, mixed with either goat or sheep milk. This version was coated in whisky-soaked barley and aged for around 18-24 months, giving the cheese a smokey and sweet fermented taste infused with malt whisky flavours, such as fermented grains, caramel, dried fruit and marmalade. The aftertaste is distinctly spicy with a good lift of acidity. This is a gourmet cheese. I did not think it would do it justice to pair with wine. Rather a single malt with age?

This is a very exciting journey discovering Italian wines and cheeses. So glad to be on board! Salute!

Here are the wines that featured on this Italian evening:

The White Wines

Timorasso 'Derthona', Colli Tortonesi DOC, Vigneti Massa, 2014

(Timorasso, Piemonte)

Monte Carbonare, Soave Classico DOC, Suavia, 2015

(Garganega, Veneto)

Pomino Benefizio DOC, Castello di Pomino, Frescobaldi, 2014

(Chardonnay, Toscana)

IS Argiolas, Vermentino di Sardegna DOC, Argiolas, 2017

(Vermentino, Sardegna)



The Red Wines

Barolo DOCG Brunate, La Morra, Roberto Voerzio, 1997

(Nebbiolo, Piemonte)

San Leonardo, Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT, Tenuta San Leonardo, 2004

(Approx Cabernet Sauvignon(60%)-Carmenère(30%)-Merlot(10%), Trentino)

Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC, Quintarelli, 2003

(Corvina-Rondinella-Molinara-Others, Veneto)

Tignanello, Toscana IGT, 1997 (magnum)

(Sangiovese(85%)-Cabernet Sauvignon(10%)-Cabernet Franc(5%), Toscana)

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Altero, Poggio Antico, 2007

(Sangiovese, Toscana)

Pelago, Marche Rosso IGT, Umani Ronchi, 1997 (magnum)

(Montepulciano (50%)-Cabernet Sauvignon(40%)-Merlot(10%), Marche)

Taurasi DOCG, Terredora di Paolo, 2007

(Aglianico, Campania)

Etna Rosso DOC, Graci, 2016

(Nerello Mascalese, Sicilia)