A slight diversion: La Piemonte!

Even for a burghead like me, I am given to moments of weakness and crave for something different. Although I pledge my allegiance to burgundy and continue to be unconvinced that there is any other region more thrilling and more complete than it, I am partial to the wines of Piedmont as well as northern Rhone (the reds only).

A few days back Andy asked if the few of us should get together at the weekend and I suggested we should do something different (read: non burgundy). Perhaps syrah or Piedmontese. So he put up a line up of several interesting Barolos for the evening. This time we didn't do it blind. For a change too.

The scene at Wine Garage was just great. We were out there in the open by the riverside and the weather was quite cool. The crowd was bustling (business was good and the neighbour, Brewerks, was even better) but given the arrangement and spacing of the seats, we were nice and cosy: relaxed yet still enough to focus on the wines too. The food was great. Very pleasurable and tasty. Creative but not over-the-top, with the intention of the dish well communicated. Prices were fair too. And service? Good: not-intrusive yet quite accomodating when needed.

The Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle NV Brut (supposedly a blend of 1992, 1995 and 1996 vintages) kicked off the evening and it was delicious. This certainly had finer bubbles than the Brut 1996 I had just the week before. Fairly Chard driven nose with a bready and buttery mood. Sweet yet crisp, quite clean, fresh and zingy. Very generous in the mouth yet maintained a slim and elegant frame. It was fantastic with the fresh oyster.

A blind white followed. A generous buttery nose introduced a slightly oaked Chard flavours. A softer, fleshier style but possessed quite a tight core. Lemon zests and hints of banana skins. The latter made me think of this as an 2003 white burg. Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet les Perrieres 2003. A good 2003 but like most of its counterparts, the details are somewhat muted.

The first Barolo, the 1999 Massolino Barolo Vigna Parafada, followed. Black cherries and curranty fruits. This was made in a somewhat modern style but was still restrained. Dark yet soft fruits. Evident details of ash, tobacco and smoke in the nose as well as vanillin. My grouse is that the wine lacked spine.

The first of the 'trio-Conternos' followed - 1999 Paolo Conterno Barolo Ginestra. The nose is now purer. Tell-tale tar and black cherry liqueur, with ash and tobacco. It was also sweeter, as the plummy fruits were elevated by a sound, better integrated acidity. This came through more transparent than the Massolino, and finished with broad yet refined tannins. This had the elements but just didn't carry that oomph or punch to stand apart from the others.

2001 Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala was poured next. While I admire the elegance of the 1999s before this, the completeness of the 2001 vintage was undeniably clear. Crystalline nose with an impression of solidness. Ever the enlightened (semi-modern) school, this wine mixed - and quite successfully at that - ash, vanillin, black cherries, licorice and cream on the nose. Pure but still compactly blunt at this stage and with extended aeration opened up a little to show the fruit details. Still a bit modernesque for my taste. A viscous wine yet demonstrated an admirable transparency. Very good wine in a superb vintage.

The next house is somewhat of a legend for those who are into artisanal, classical, honest-to-goodness, massive Barolos built to age a lifetime. The 1998 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia was a knockout by the merits of its personality alone. Pure earthy funk on the nose underlied the dark cherry liqueur essense. Amazingly almost alcohol-less although there is doubting of the ripeness and immensity of this baby. In the mouth this had an almost wild energy, a certain zestiness that enlivened the dark fruits flavours. Totally a wine of pleasure. The aromas developed and added a crazy mix of earthy Italian herbs and porcini mushrooms. And need I mention that this came from a less-classical, very ripe vintage and this is not the top-of-the-line of the house? (His expression of Barolo in his Barolo Monfortino Riserva 1996, though painfully youthful, remains firmly etched in my memory as the most profound Barolo I've ever tasted.) I am partial, but this wine is one of the kind and a walks away from the rest tonight by sheer virtue of its character and charm.

How does one top up such an individualistic performance as the Cascina Francia? Well, the dinner ended with a very different interpretation of Barolo in the hands of Bruno Giacosa. His 2001 Barolo Faletto had a most pristine nose of berries, red plums and red raspberries. This was the most red-fruited Barolo of the night, and the overally body, aromas and texture unequivocally brought to mind a Chambolle-Musigny. Creamy in the palate with yet superbly pristine and pure. Very high pitched and framed by bright and harmonious acidity. This wine was balanced to the point that it felt almost weightless and the abundance of the fruits were such that the solid silky tannins were indiscernible. Flavoursome, complex and showed the wondrous blessings of its vintage to a fault. Superb.

What can I say? Old school rules, I guess. They rule in Burgundy and they sure rule in Piedmont too! The Giacomo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa were staggeringly impressive tonight. And most importantly, they proudly carried the flag of its region and charmed the table with its strong and root personality.