Brunello dinner @ Double Zero

When we got the email about a Valdicava brunello dinner at Double Zero featuring a '96 brunello, it was a no brainer to sign up.

We kicked off with an introductory talk with Vicenzo Abbruzzese, the owner and winemaker. He talked about the history of brunello, the terrior of the region, his family's dedication to creating the brunello in the vineyard (versus in the barrel or tank). It was a great talk.

We started off with a Soligo Prosecco NV to go with the beef carpaccio. According to the menu, it came accompanied by whipped anchovy and goat cheese, meyer lemon marmalade, and micro cilantro.

The prosecco was so nice. Not too many bubbles, nice and crisp.

The beef carpaccio itself was good. The goat cheese was okay; I totally missed any anchovy in it though. The marmalade was a bit too thickly cut and sweet. But overall, not a bad dish, but hard to compare to the classic you can get at Antico Posta.

Course two: Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino 2009.

Served with a wild boar ragu, hand cut pappardelle, black pepper whipped ricotta, roasted chanterelles. It was obvious when we were served that the dishes had sat before serving, and we were one of the first to receive our food.

The pasta was cooked well and tender, but it was obviously put down first and left to settle. Then the ragu was put on top and when I got it, it was barely warm. But still delicious. It was thickly made, more like a braise with gravy than a normal ragu. Two big pieces of wild boar were on top. The chanterelles seemed to be nowhere to find.

Course three: Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2005 and 1996.

Lamb cheek two ways with morcilla sausage, smoked tart cherry compote, sunchoke puree, pomegranate agrodolce, and crispy artichoke.

The braised lamb cheek was delicious. Tender, unctuous, a joy to eat. The artichoke was a little too thickly battered and seemed to have something like curry in it. The morcilla was good, but strong. And the sweetness of the compote, it was a bit much.

The wines were delicious, the 2005 big like you come to expect from a brunello, the 1996 a beautiful wine. But the dish... too heavy for the delicate 96.

For dessert, a chocolate torte with a fior di latte gelato. The torte was far too sweet to eat. But the gelato was quite good. I was surprised they didn't offer coffee or anything.

Overall, it was a good dinner, though I thought a bit heavy handed for a wine dinner. I was happy to try some other dishes from their chef and will also be careful to look at how the dishes are described before ordering something with a lot of needless extras.