Italy 1990 at Eleven Madison Park 

Wine:

NV	André Clouet Brut Un Jour de 1911	94
NV	Pouillon Brut Vigneron Premier Cru	91
1999	Gravner Breg	94
1990	Cerbaiona Brunello di Montalcino	95
1990	Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia	96
1990	Scavino Barolo Bric del Fiasc	95
1990	Gaja Darmagi	93
1990	Castello di Ama Merlot L’Apparita	91
1990	Dal Forno Amarone	93
1997	Dal Forno Recioto	96
1997	Bussola Recioto TB	93

Special thanks to collector Bruce Katz for organizing this incredible dinner built around Italy’s 1990 vintage, one of the most celebrated of its generation. The late afternoon/early evening hour is one of the most beautiful times to be sitting in Eleven Madison’s spacious, high-ceiling dining room, as the gentle light that filters through the windows is especially calming.

Executive Chef Daniel Humm presented an exquisite array of dishes that paired beautifully with our wines. Wine Director John Ragan and his team did an excellent job making sure the wines were handled with utmost care.

It’s hard to pick favorites, but among the starters I especially enjoyed the lobster bisque and the Atlantic fluke, which were delicious on their own and with the wines. Both dishes captured Humm’s signature style. The bisque was explosive, with the corn adding an exuberant touch of summer, while the fluke was a more hushed, introspective dish with delicate layers of flavors that built towards an all-encompassing crescendo. I also loved both birds, the guinea fowl and the duck, which were roasted whole and prepared for two people. The breasts and legs were served separately, a technique that allows for perfect cooking of the different parts of the birds and also gives diners a second preparation for each course. Despite the richness of this menu, everything was light and beautifully executed.

As delicious as the food was, much of our attention was focused on this thrilling collection of wines. André Clouet’s NV Brut Un Jour de 1911, a wine Ragan turned me on to a few months prior, was its usual exuberant self. This 100% Pinot Noir Champagne from Bouzy (50% 1996, 25% 1995 and 25% 1997) emerged from the glass with endless layers of expansive, perfumed fruit in a virtuosic display of class. Pouillon’s NV Brut Vigneron Premier Cru revealed a darker, earthier personality in its baritone-hued shades of fruit. A blend of equal parts Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (50% 2005 and 50% reserve wines aged solera-style spanning 1997-2004), the wine impressed for its balance and sheer class.

Josko Gravner’s 1999 Breg was especially delicious and made a fine segue into the reds. This blend of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Riesling Italico offered up sweet scents of truffles, honey and candied orange peel in a silky-textured, evocative style. The pairing with the fluke was truly inspired and monumental. This complex, nuanced Friulian white was utterly mesmerizing.

I can’t think of too many times Cerbaiona’s 1990 Brunello di Montalcino is the first red served at dinner, but here it was, and the wine was nothing less than majestic. Still big, rich and powerful, it flowed with expressive layers of dark fruit, menthol, tar, licorice and spices. This virile, fresh Brunello was a reminder of just how profound the best wines from Montalcino can be. It was superb.

Giacomo Conterno’s 1990 Barolo Cascina Francia drew me in with its beguiling aromatics. Sweet scents of tar, licorice and roses swirled around in the glass in a hypnotic, elegant style that was captivating. Well-stored bottles should drink well for another 20 years. This was a monumental, towering Barolo. The comparison and contrast with Scavino’s 1990 Barolo Bric del Fiasc was fascinating. At the time, Scavino was still a fairly traditional producer, but his 1990s show the greater concentration and a concern for soft-textured fruit that would become a hallmark of the modern school of Barolo. Regardless, his 1990 Bric del Fiasc was impressive for its sheer concentration and for the finesse of its tannins. Seamless, opulent and open, it was a very typical and beautiful 1990 Barolo.

A grouping of wines made from international varieties was interesting, but in my mind these wines are rarely as fascinating as wines from indigenous grapes. Gaja’s 1990 Darmagi (Cabernet Sauvignon) was beautiful for the rich, sweet quality of its fruit. Like all of Gaja’s 1990s, it is a young wine with plenty of upside. Castello di Ama’s 1990 L’Apparita (Merlot) emerged from the glass with waves of dark fruit, chocolate and cinnamon. The wine never really developed in the glass and remained somewhat monolithic, showing little of the profound complexity that is found in its finest vintages.

The 1990 Amarone, from Romano Dal Forno, was fairly resolved and not as interesting as I had hoped. Dal Forno’s wines were still quite fresh in my mind as I had recently visited the winery and suspect a less than perfect bottle here. I look forward to tasting a more representative example. The 1997 Recioto, on the other hand, was superb. The wine was in a beautiful place, where early tertiary notes added complexity to an elegant core of fruit. Despite the wine’s formidable concentration and structure, it never came across as heavy or cloying. Tommaso Bussola’s 1997 Recioto TB was quite a bit sweeter than the Dal Forno, which gave it an extra dimension of volume. I preferred the Dal Forno for its greater ease of drinkability….and I was reminded of how quickly I polished off a glass of the as yet unreleased 2004!

All in all, this was another great night of food, wine and friendship at Eleven Madison Park, one of New York City’s very finest restaurants.

Food:

Nova Scotia Lobster; Chilled Bisque with Summer Corn

Atlantic Fluke; Carpaccio with Meyer Lemon Oil, Sea Urchin Cream and Piment d’Esplette

Lynnhaven Farms Ricotta di Capra Gnocchi with Violet Artichokes, Taggiasca Olives and Bacon

Four Story Hill Suckling Pig Roasted with Chanterelles, Bing Cherries and Mizuna

Grimaud Farms Guinea Fowl Roasted with Lemon, Rosemary and Summer Truffles

Muscovy Duck, Lavender Honey Glazed with Blueberries, Sweet Corn and Spices

Artisan Cheeses

Eleven Madison Park, 11 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10010, Tel. (212) 889-0905

--Antonio Galloni