My friend Alex periodically does a "Table d'Hote" fundraiser for social justice causes at his church. Once a year the dinner is combined with a concert for a more gala event. Saturday was the latest, and the theme was Italy.
The wine they were serving for the event was the 2004 Falesco Vitiano. Pleasant medium-bodied red, a little floral edge over red berry and plum fruit. Not very long, but pleasant balanced acidity, a good food wine and a good bargain at $7-8. This doesn't sound much like the Vitiano that Jenise describes, but I have seen extraordinary bottle variation in this wine in previous years. B
Starter was a salad of roasted fennel, peppers, and mozzarella. Main course was a chicken Scarpariello accompanied by porcini risotto al salto (patties) and brocolli rape.
We had a few supplementary wines at our table:
1997 Montevertine "Il Sodaccio"
Rather light colored, but not light flavored. Black cherry and raspberry fruit, resolved tannins, a touch of saddle leather and earth. Ripe but not overripe as I found a few '97s, I'd say fully mature. Nice if not exciting. B/B+
1988 Marcarini "Lasarin" Nebbiolo de Langhe
This really surprised me. I checked the label to make sure I hadn't brought a much more recent vintage. Rather young and vital. Sweet ripe red cherry fruit. Medium bodied, no real tannins left. I had brought this as a flyer - I think of this as an early drinker and thought it was likely to be past it. Turned out not to be tired at all, but outside of a little hint of tar & violets not much as far as development. A pleasant sipper. B/B+
2005 Domaine de Grand Croix (DuBoeuf) Brouilly
Big black plum fruit, just a hint of geraniums and bone meal. Big and round, this doesn't seem very Brouilly-ish, or Beaujolais-ish. Despite the size, I find it a little short. Seemed popular around the table, and I'm probably downgrading for lack of typicity, if that doesn't matter to you you might like this more than I. B-
Between main course and dessert/coffee we went into sanctuary for the concert. A combination of the Manhattan Quartet and members of the Met Opera orchestra did Autumn and Winter from The 4 Seasons and an Albononi Adagio; the Quartet did Puccini's Crysantemi and Mark Gould did an extraordinary job with the Torelli Trumpet Concerto. When we returned to the dining room the Lasarin was still going strong and the Brouilly was fading (the Il Sodaccio didn't make it past the chicken). Good night for good causes.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.