Day 3&4- Montalcino/Montepulciano/Pienza
Monday we went to back to Montalcino- and started with our first winery visit- Altesino Winery. (www.altesino.it)
The winery was beautiful, with many separate buildings, our guide, a young woman from Bulgaria told us that the property used to be a small village itself. We toured the cellars and saw the large Slovanian Oak Casks as well as the grapes drying for the Vin Santo, which they age in tiny Chestnut Casks. We learned that there are 173 Brunello wineries and that Brunello means “the brown one”.
We first tasted their Olive Oil, which had just been pressed. The Oil was very green and smelled of cut grass. It was the best we have ever had, so we bought a bottle, $14 for a 750 ml. bottle.
Next we tasted:
2002 Altesino Rosso di Montalcino, 100% Sangiovese, 8 mos. In Slovanian Oak-very nice and very smooth with bright cherry fruit.
2001 Altesino Alte d”Altesino, 1/3 Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet. Aged in French Oak for 12-14 Months. A Super-Tuscan with a nose of leather and cedar and deep dark fruit. Great!
1999 Altesino Brunello, and this wine was on the brownish side, concentrated and tannic, best in 5-7 years.
2003 Bianco Di Altesino- 50% Trebbiano and 50% Chardonnay. Very soft, crisp apples, with some richness on the finish. Delicious!
2002 Altesino Rossodi Altesino- 80% Sangiovese, 20% Cab, 20% Merlot. Medium bodied with red and black cherry fruit. Aged in steel, no oak. Very nice.
2001 Palazzo Altesi- 100% Sangiovese, round, cherry fruit and earthy with a dry finish.
1997 Vin Santo D’Altesi- aged in small Chestnut Barrels, smooth with a golden-orange color, a nose of raisins, brown sugar, nuts and honey- delicious!
After our visit to Altesino, we went into the town of Montalcino to visit some shops before lunch.
Lunch was at Boccon Di Vino Ristorante, on a small hill, just outside of Montalcino. Again, we were the only people in the restaurant and we were treated to a lot of attention. We both chose the Prixe Fixe menu- $35 per person Euro. Off the wine list we chose Cusumano Benuara Nero D’Avola Syrah Sicilia- which was excellent, smooth and concentrated with dark fruit and licorice notes- and just $15 euro.
We started with Papa Con Pomodoro Soup- made with pureed tomatoes, bread, basil and olive oil- simple but delicious! Next was a salad- Cartamusica con Lardo di Colonnata Insalatina di Rucola e Pomodori- made with arugula, tomatoes and fresh herbs. Then we were served another soup, their famous Carabaccia, a bread and onion soup with pecorino- similar to French Onion Soup. The pasta course was Gnocci di Mario- with Shaved Black Truffles, Gorgonzola, Tallegio and Pecorino Cheeses- Intense!
Our entrée was a Grilled Lamb Chop, with a celery puree that looked like mashed potatoes. Dessert was Crème Brulee with lavender- one of the best we have ever had.
While we ate, we watched the olive pickers in the olive trees, it was a great setting for a fabulous lunch! Definitely one of our favorites of the trip.
On our way out of Montalcino, we stopped at La Rasina Winery. This small winery produces 8,000 bottles of Brunello and 20,000 bottles of Rosso annually. The winery had been recommended by Italian Wine merchants in NYC. The winery owner was a woman in her late 30’s and spoke very little English. She said she had the flu and had forgotten about our appointment, so we had a quick tour of the small winery and tasting: 2002 Rosso di Montalcino, very nice with soft red fruit- $9. 1999 Brunello- with cedar and spice, soft fruit, raisiny, a bit tannic- $22. The 98 Brunello had more concentrated fruit, a hint of licorice and was less tannic- definitely more drinkable at the time- $20. The La Rasina Grappa was our first ever taste of Grappa, the Grappa di Brunello was colorless and had a strong nose of brown raisins- 43% alcohol- it took our breaths away- literally- I guess it is an acquired taste as all we tasted was alcohol- it was $13.40/bottle. The Grappa Di Brunello Riserva was a pale golden yellow color and was even more intense in alcohol- $14.50/bottle.
We bought a bottle of the 02 Rosso and the owner gave us a complimentary bottle of the 98 Brunello.
Dinner that night was at Trattoria Latte di Luna in Pienza- supposedly a favorite of the cast of The English Patient when they filmed in Pienza. Unfortunately, the weather had turned cold- in the 30-40’s so we could not eat outside on their pretty patio. Inside, it was checkered table cloths and very bright lights- an almost gaudy Italian-American-like atmosphere. The food was mediocre, but luckily inexpensive. 2 other American Couples were seated near us and were raving about the food- but we left disappointed. We tried a bottle of 2003 Avignonesi Rosso Di Montalcino- $16- but the wine was flat and disappointing. We started with pastas: Pici al Ragu- handmade spaghetti with a meat sauce- $6.50 and Tagliatelle alla Boscailoa- with mushrooms- $7.50. For our main course, we shared a Bistecca Pork Steak- $5.50 and Maialino Arrosts- Roasted Young Pig- $9.50. The food was just ok- nothing special… not a place I would recommend. The best part of the dinner was their home-made hazelnut semi-freddo that we had for dessert.
The next day, on our way to Montepulciano, we stopped at the Pienza Solp Cheese Factory and sampled several cheeses. There were so many Pecorino’s to choose from, some aged in and covered with ash, some covered in Tomato sauce, some in hay…We found the prices to be a bit less than at the shops in town, so bought a few different sealed pieces of pecorino to take home with us. Once in Montepulciano, we found parking and climbed up a steep hill to enter the walled Medieval Town. It was cold and windy, so our first stop was at Café Poilzano for Cappuccinos ($1 each). We went into many of the shops and boutiques and bought a few items to bring home: a fennel scented candle, some Pici Pasta and more porcinis and sun-dried tomatoes. Lunch was at La Grotta, just outside of town and across from The Church of San Biago. The restaurant was pretty but almost too formal for our taste. The food was very good- but expensive. We started with a complimentary glass of Il Macchione white wine and crostini with tomatoes, pecorino and olive oil. The excellent olive oil turned out to be again from Le Traverse, where we were staying. We shared a ½ bottle of 2001 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano- $15. ( not one of our favorites, we did not even finish it). Our salads were teriffic- a wonderful salad of a Pecorino Soufflé over Spinach ($10) and Barley w/ greens and crispy tuscan bacon ($12). Pastas were a Taglioni Pasta w/ artichokes and tuscan bacon and Tagliatelle Pasta of Saraceno Flour with Duck sauce and saffron. Both were very good. My entrée was a Chiana Beef Filet($18) with a chickory salad and pomegranate. It was good, but a bit tough. Joe had the pork filet ($17) w/ vino nobile sauce and braised red radicchio. Dessert was warm ricotta pie ($7) with an intense creamy coffee sauce. The lunch was very good but on the expensive side and the waiters were quite stiff, making any attempted conversations difficult.
After our lunch, we met Pinuccia from Le Traverse to follow her to Montepulciano Stazione to watch her olives get pressed into olive oil. We had cancelled our winery appointment at Avignonesi, in favor of seeing the olives get pressed. At the press pad, we saw the olives come off the trucks in small bins and go into a tube where a spinning mechanism removed any stems and leaves from the olives. Next the olives went through a spray and
were washed and dried. Then they were crushed and spun into what looked like olive paste, then pressed into oi. The oil that came out at the end was green and cloudy and bitter- the first “press”. They told us that the “must” that came out into a separate pile was the remains of the crushed olives and would be used again and again for future presses of ( lower quality)olive oils.
On our way back to Pienza, we stopped at The Cugina Cheese Factory on the road from Montepulciano to Pienza. We tasted several of their Sheep’s
Milk pecorino cheeses and choose our 2 favorites and had the 8” wheels shrink-wrapped to take home. The prices were great- it came to $34 Euro for both wheels. Also on our way back, we stopped in the town of Montefollonico, to preview La Chiusa, where we were having dinner on Wednesday night. It was another pretty medieval walled-town but unfortunately it was getting dark and starting to rain so we did not get a chance to walk around and explore as we would have liked to. But there was an outdoor farmers market going on, with about 10 booths under tents selling fruits, vegetables, candy, bread, fish and meats - we bought some warm slices of smoked wild boar and ate them in the car- delicious!
We had dinner at La Porta, in Monticchiello, yet another medieval walled town next to Pienza. The restaurant was small and cozy, maybe 10 tables
and bistro-like. Another favorite of our trip that I highly recommend!
We started with complimentary glasses of Prosecco and a starter of Goat Cheese warpped in grape leaves with peppercorns, greens and olive oil. We ordered a fantastic bottle of Gaja Ca Marcanda Promis- $29. The wine (Merlot, Sangiovese and Syrah) was almost Aussie-like, with sweet, toasted, spiced oak, black concentrated blackberry fruit- rich and smooth with soft tannins- very balanced- a real treat! (We bought a bottle at a shop in Montepulciano the next day to bring home for $22 Euro) Our appetizers were Oven-Crusted Crostini with Pecorino, Porcini and Truffles and Bruschetta with Tomatoes, Garlic, Basil, White Beans and Porcini Mushrooms. Our pasta were Pici(local fresh made spaghetti) with sausage, tomatoes and mushrooms and Pici with a black pepper and pecorino sauce. We split an entrée of Chiana Beef rolled with pecorino and truffles. The food was spectacular and reasonably priced. Dessert was Amaretti Bagnati Con Caffe serviti con Mascarpone Chantilly. (amaretto cookies soaked in espresso with whipped mascarpone cheese)- A favorite dessert of the trip! We loved this restaurant, it was so warm and cozy, friendly and comfy casual (we were fine in jeans and sweaters). |