WTN: Italian Wines at Maialino

A few of us gathered at this new NYC restaurant to enjoy the delicious food and drink some Italian wine. May I say it was not an easy reservation to obtain.

Our white starter was a 2005 Jermann Vintage Tunina - muted nose that gave way to a more expressive palate of minerals, grapefruit, and pineapple and a nice richness. The fruit was subtle and the wine was enjoyed with the assorted salumi.

Next were two Tuscans. First was a 1999 Solaia - In some respects, I found the nose to be Bordeaux-like with band aid and pencil lead. The first thing I noticed on the palate was an earthiness with dark cherry and minerals, and very stiff tannins, and a lovely finish. After a short time, the tannins softened and it became a very easy drinking and enjoyable wine. After we poured this, we poured a 1999 Le Macchiole Messorio - while both are Tuscans, they could not have been more different. The Messorio was bigger and more modern, showing a sweetness both on the nose and palate. Lots of dark fruit, rich and lush, and my notes from dinner end with...delicious, but my preference was for the Solaia. We had both of these wines with the pasta. Mine was wide spinach noodles with a Bolognese sauce, and it was just terrific with the wines.

With our main course of the house specialty, "Maialino," roast pig, we opened two Barolo. The first was a 1997 Domenico Clerico Ciabot Mentin Ginestra - On the nose was tar, strawberry, and roses. The same showed on the palate - quintessential Barolo. Good depth, lovely finish - just gorgeous and a most incredible pairing with the "Maialino". I could have sniffed and drunk this all night. The other Barolo was not as enjoyable as the Clerico. 1999 Luciano Sandrone Le Vigne - I found the nose to be pretty and floral with anise, but then it showed caramel. That caramel note overshadowed everything else on the palate - can it integrate over time so that the sweet fruit that is there, be enjoyed? This is the second Sandrone that has disappointed me recently. The other was a 2001 Le Vigne last month.

A couple of desserts were ordered - a raspberry tart, and a pignoli tart - and they were both excellent, and this from someone who wasn't even interested in having dessert. We finished what was left in our glasses and shared whatever was left in the decanters with the staff, and everyone was happy.

Diane,

Thanks for the notes.

Looks like you had a good time at Maialino. Our general impression when we dined was that, in general, the pasta dishes were a tad better than the secondi. However, then, I had the Vaccinara (ox tail) dish as my main and enjoyed it. I agree that since this restaurant has generated good press, it’s been a tough ticket to get.

I remember liking the 1997 Clerico Ciabot Mentin Ginestra I wish I have more.
Too bad about the Sandrone. I’m sitting on a few older vintages and your note reminded me to have one pulled to see how good (or bad) things have turned out.

BTW, when we went, we also enjoyed sharing our wines with our terrific wait staff at the end of the meal.

Ramon

First of all, Ramon, thank you for the recommendation on the restaurant. It was the reason I persevered to get the reservation.

I also have a few Sandrone so these recent disappointments do not make me happy. A visit to Luciano Sandrone's winery in Nov. 2008 gave us an opportunity to taste some '04s and they were outstanding, and I was sorry I didn't buy any while there, because I noticed the prices were so much higher when we got home. I'd love to try some older ones, because the 1999 and 2001 are not showing well at this time.