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 Louis Benton Steakhouse

October 5, 2005 - Piedmont Passion Report from Wine Club

Regarded world-wide as one of the top wine regions anywhere, Piedmont, Italy is known for its many great grape varietals, most especially, Nebbiolo, considered along with Sangiovese from Tuscany to be the top noble grape in Italy. Piedmont produces both brilliant white and red wines, along with the gorgeous sparkling Moscato d’Asti, which is a sweet wine made from the Muscat grape. Tonight we touched upon a few of the classic examples from Piedmont, and everyone was amazed!

Massone 2004 Gavi “Masera” $16.00
This estate-grown reserve wine is made from the Cortese grape, and boasts lovely aromas of pear and green apple. It’s crisp and elegant with a beautiful balance of acidity and fruit, and has an incredible, lingering finish. A wonderful wine with or without food, this will pair well with anything from shellfish to roast poultry.

Villa Giada 2004 Barbera d’Asti $13.75
Made from the Barbera grape from the town of Asti, this was absolutely fresh, dry and fruity with bright aromas and flavors of red plum, red cherry and spice. Aged briefly in neutral oak to preserve its up-front fruit, this is soft and supple and would make a wonderful everyday quaffer. Try this with your Wednesday night pasta course or with overstuffed club sandwiches.

Clerico 2003 Dolcetto “Visadi” $21.00
From the Dolcetto grape, this is another single vineyard reserve wine, and combined with the hot 2003 vintage it comes from, produces a rich, lush, more robust version of this varietal than one would expect. Offering extracted black fruit on the nose and palate, this has round acidity and fine tannins which yield a ripe, voluptious wine. We deemed it perfect with beef of any type…which we couldn’t resist having to finish off the wines at the tasting.

Moccagatta 2001 Barbaresco “Bric Balin” $53.00
This was really young and I’ll take the blame for that. Another single vineyard wine from the Nebbiolo grape, this is one of the two major wines from this region. This was very aggressive and structured, with earthy notes of black fruit, licorice, tobacco and mocha. One for the cellar, we should revisit this in three to five years to see what it’s up to. Right now, decant for two hours and pair with grilled rib-eye.

Silvio Grasso 1998 Barolo “Pi Vigne” $56.50
Easily the show-stopper tonight, this Nebbiolo-based red is the so-called “King of Piedmont” wine and was the favorite of the evening. Almost ready to drink (note the vintage)and showing beautifully, this boasted rich aromas and flavors of black cherry, saddle leather, tobacco and spice. Quintessential Barolo, this is a wine to savor now and for the next decade. This will pair wonderfully with grilled New York strip steak.

La Spinetta 2004 Moscato d’Asti “Biancospino” $22.50
By far, this was the real crowd favorite of the night. This sparkling white is light and perfectly sweet with lovely notes of white peaches, ripe pears, and honeysuckle. “Nectar of the gods . . .” was one of the quotes. Also, “exponentially better than Cold Duck . . . ten to the Google.” With its extended finish and thoroughly charming texture, this is truly a special wine. Try it as guests arrive for a party, it’s low in alcohol and screams “fun.

All of the wines we taste, no matter what night we tried them…even if it was over a year ago…are available either on our shelf or to special order. We are always very happy to special order a bottle of anything you’re looking for. If you are interested in trying some of these, please email or call us anytime and we will include it on our next order – almost always delivered within two to three days!
 
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