Two Winter Lovely Weekends - Part 2

It was really a lovely weekend we spent in Cogne. This little hidden gem on a side valley of Valle d'Aosta in the national park of Gran Paradiso that does not know yet the mass ski tourism that a lot of other villages in the area does. Cogne in fact is renowned more for his natural beauty and for his cross-country skiing than for being a big alpine ski resort. In fact, downhill skiing is limited and that contributes to keeping the area calmer and more untouched. In fact it was one of the most relaxing places we have been recently.

This beautiful village has also some eno-gastronomic treasures to discover. We tried a few different places, but two of them has to definitely be reported. First of all, the restaurant where we had dinner on the Saturday evening, Lou Bequet, is an exceptional place to taste the delightful dishes of this valley.  I had as a starter a Beef Tartare (amazing quality of the meat) with a foam of Lardo and Thyme, really delicate and very pleasant. The real hit for me was my primo, Ravioli filled with Castelmagno (typical cheese from Piedmont) in a cream of purple potatoes and truffles. One of the best primi I have had in a long time; the combination of the flavors was just amazing and it was the perfect plate for the cold winter night outside (-18 from the car thermometer when we headed back to the hotel). I closed my feast with an exceptionally tender veal cheek braised in red wine, also here words will not give justice to the amazing taste. There was also a nice wine list with a lot of the local choice that normally paired well with a so earthy and tasteful food.

Another lovely nice place we found in the middle of the village the day after is La Cave de Cogne. This is not really a restaurant but more a wine shop with some seats in the back where they normally serve 3 or 4 different dishes each day. We had a lovely lunch especially considering that the couple that owns the place, Sabrina and Jun are lovely hosts. He is Japanese and is the chef. It was fascinating as well to hear their story and how a young Japanese chef ended up living in this small Italian village.  Wine selection is great especially considering the wide range of the local wines. To be considered also a nice selection of Genepy, the local liquor based on this mountain herb.

A bit about Valle d'Aosta wines now. Certainly Valle d'Aosta is not known to be one of the most famous Italian wine region but there are certainly some distinctive producers that are able to offer lovely mountain wines that pair fantastically with the local cuisine.  We tried a Fumin 2007 from a producer called L'Atoueyo that was really impressive for his complexity and drinkability. Fumin is a local grape that generates wine that could be really good to age for a long time and that will pair really well with game and aged cheese. Not easy to find considering also the limited production but definitely worth to look for.

I also have another very interesting wine, Picotendro 2009 from La Kiuva.  Picotendro is the name that locals are using to call the very famous Italian grape Nebbiolo. In fact this is the northern area of Italy where Nebbiolo grapes are grown. The result in this case was an extremely elegant wine that will pair fantastically with dishes not too structured and on my case it worked perfectly as a Sunday lunch treat.

I left the region knowing that I will be back soon; there is plenty to discover in this area and his beauty will be a certain excuse to be back. 

Two Winter Lovely Weekends - Part 1

Winter has definitely arrived in full strength here in Europe with temperatures that I do not remember experiencing since I was a little kid. So what better excuse to stay inside and enjoy a warm fireplace and  some fantastic wine and food with good friends?
Last weekend actually was not that cold yet, but the visit of some Italian friends in Lausanne gave me the excuse to take out from the cellar some good bottles to pair with some fine homemade food. It was a very "meaty" weekend with Beef en Croute on Saturday night and charcoal grilled BBQ burgers on Sunday as a main dish. So, we needed some powerful red wines to go together with all these meats and these are the great bottles we opened:

The first red was a curiosity that was sitting in my cellar from a while already. A Merlot del Ticino Vintage 1986 from an unknown producer that was given to me as a present from a friend, that I must admit likes good wine too. What to say, this wine left everybody speechless for his incredible integrity and amazing color; and after 26 years he was still not only drinkable but incredibly pleasant and the bottle was finished in an heartbeat. What a gem, would love to find many more surprises like this in my cellar. And definitely not expected from such an under-rated region as Ticino.

After that we opened a bottle of one of the producer that I loved when I started getting close to the world of wine, Tenuta delle Terre Nere. I still remember when we first visited this producer in the amazing surrounding where they are based on the slopes of the Etna, one of the few active volcano left in Europe. I always loved these wines for their warmth and elegance. I must say also this Etna Rosso Calderara Sottana 2005 was a fine wine but he did not give me the same emotion I had in the past, maybe also because this bottle was in the middle of two absolutely fantastic ones.

And here we are with the third wine of the night and for me the best as well: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2000, Emidio Pepe.  Emidio is renowned to be one of the "sacred monster" of Montepulciano and this bottle confirmed that this is not only a legend but it is most likely the truth. Emidio is also famous for his extreme byodinamic and natural production approach with great respect of the "terroir" and maniacal attention to the quality of the grape (hand picking during the harvest and still pressing by feet) with minimal addiction of sulfur. And if this is the result I would love that all the wine will be produced like this one. Extremely complex with an amazing nose of cacao, cherries, and red fruit. In the mouth it is a bomb and paired fantastically with the beef. CHE BUONO.

But in the evening we have also some space for sweetness. To go with some lovely French cheeses we opened a Merlino, from Pojer e Sandri, so we passed from the center of Italy to the extreme north, close to the Dolomites. It is a "muted" wine, so a wine that has some alcohol added to stop the process of fermentation. The wine is originally from Lagrein, a local grape and it has some brandy added during the fermentation. The result is an amazing sweet wine that paired great with the cheese and could have still a long life ahead. Probably it could be an amazing wine to go with some dark chocolate as well.

As a closure of the Saturday night feast we had with a pear and apple crumble the Moscato d'Asti d'Autunno from Saracco. What I can say about this? I have had many Moscato in the past but never a wine that invites you to drink it as much as this one. The perfumes and the aromas are fantastic, typical from the Moscato grape but brought to a maximum expression from this producer that really know how to treat this grape creating such a magical wine.

After all these wines nobody was thinking that we could have performed well also the day after, but we actually did. With the burgers we needed some powerful and full body wines so we opened:

Ribera del Duero Reserva 2004 - Bodegas Carmelo Rodero
I bought this bottle couple of years ago in Madrid, and the first thing that struck me on it was how big and heavy the bottle was for a standard format. But after having tried the wine I am sure what I will remember will be the content and not the shape of the bottle anymore. What an amazing and complex wine and how well went with the burgers. The smell was amazing with coffee and toasted notes and in the mouth was round and fleshy with elegant and smooth tannins. I loved wines from this area of Spain and this one was one of the top I have ever tried.

After that it was not easy to keep up but I think that also the Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee' Exceptionelle 2003 from Domaine du Vieux Lazaret did his duty very well. This was a bottle that I bought at the Domaine when I was in the area and that was resting in the cellar from a few years. Also in this case really round and smooth and opened at a perfect maturity point. Exceptionelle as the name says.

The last wine was a bit of a disappointment, probably we should have opened it as a first considering that after two bombs like the first two for any wine could have been a problem to keep up. Frappato 2008 from Arianna Occhipinti. I had big expectations from this young lady vigneron in a difficult place like Sicily. She produces in total respect of nature and with minimum intervention on her wine; I was really curious to try this wine from a local and quite obscure grape called Frappato. It was well done but probably it turned out to be a bit weak compared to the two monsters that arrived before him. I definitely would like to give another chance to Arianna and I would do it at the first occasion.

We closed the drinking extravaganza with a beer from Baladin, a small beer producer from north of Italy,  the Noel.  This is a special beer produced for Christmas festivities that paired well with a fantastic chocolate. The proper end of a fantastic weekend of lovely food and wines.