- Location
- London
We were lucky. It was a bright evening on Wednesday in between the cool, rainy days we have been enduring.
Terra Rossa, in the heart of thriving Upper Street, did us proud and adapted the food continuously to our needs. I did not take notes, so these are just my impressions from memory.
Flight one - rose
Perfect way to start. Both wines are ideal summer/barbecue aperitifs, which is not to damn them with faint praise. I would love to own both and indeed ordered six of the #1 (£110/6 ib @Ultravino). It has a lively vibrant palate, while the Nervi has plenty of zesty red summer fruits - a top notch rose.
Flight two - whites/Timorasso
Both excellent, and a little more serious than the F1 wines. Comparing the 16 Massa with the 18 Massa, which I recently acquired, it clearly benefits from some ageing. The Borgogno is a very rare specimen and shows great promise. Timorasso is a worthy and noble white variety, a genuine substitute for serious white burgundy, with more than a hint of white rhone.
Flight three: esoteric reds
Two wines with a decent amount of age. The Vietti had an oxidative note but otherwise was a delight and a beautifully resolved mature Barbera, a variety which is easy to underestimate.The Palazzina Bramaterra from Alto Piedmonte was also a revelation. With only 12% alcohol, it is light on its feet, glides seamlessly across the palate and does not lack for depth, substance, and finish. The fact that this was a magnum and we finished it, in addition to the other 11 bottles, tells you all you need to know. Difficult to source, I did however manage to track down a few bottles of the 2013.
Flight four: 2016s
The Musso was opened 3-4 hours in advance of drinking while the other two were popped and poured at the table and that dichotomy defined this flight. The Musso is a deep, brooding, serious, somewhat old school wine; full-bodied and intense with a strong backbone of acidity, it needs several years of cellaring. The Trediberri and the Burzi came across as lighter, prettier, more dextrous wines, both clearly very young. Of the two I preferred the Burzi, because I detected a bit of woodiness on the Trediberri. Both of these I would be happy to own, but I would not rush out and buy either now (given how many other 16 Barolos I have recently acquired). Neither impressed the way the Ettore Germano Cerretta did a few weeks ago. However, I am not sure, in hindsight, that popping and pouring them was ideal. For me the Musso was the pick of the flight, but I think I am in the minority there.
Flight five: 2009s (and a 1971)
When I opened the Canonica around 4pm it was almost porty. It remained an uber ripe, alcoholic wine, which really pushes the envelope. It says 15% alcohol on the tin, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a degree higher. It would have been interesting to revisit on day two, but it was hard work on day one. The Oddero was warm and inviting, in line with the vintage credentials, but in contrast was beautifully balanced and perfectly resolved. It was difficult to articulate further at that stage of the evening, but I think it benefitted from being opened in the morning. Overall my wine of the night. The Marchesi was a late addition and while still in the land of the living was well past its best. All you got was soil, and nothing else; the fruit had exited a long time ago.
The initial intention was to have 8-9 wines, between the 6 of us. I don’t know how we got up to 12 (13 bearing in mind we had a magnum). Nevertheless a fabulous evening, with great company. I only had to negotiate two hundreds metres of pavement to get home. I would not be surprised if the others did not remember their journey back.
Terra Rossa, in the heart of thriving Upper Street, did us proud and adapted the food continuously to our needs. I did not take notes, so these are just my impressions from memory.
Flight one - rose
- Roberto Garbarino Alta Langa Rose Dosagio Zero, 2016
- Nervi Rosato, 2018
Perfect way to start. Both wines are ideal summer/barbecue aperitifs, which is not to damn them with faint praise. I would love to own both and indeed ordered six of the #1 (£110/6 ib @Ultravino). It has a lively vibrant palate, while the Nervi has plenty of zesty red summer fruits - a top notch rose.
Flight two - whites/Timorasso
- Borgogno Timorasso, 2018
- Walter Massa Timorasso Derthona, 2016
Both excellent, and a little more serious than the F1 wines. Comparing the 16 Massa with the 18 Massa, which I recently acquired, it clearly benefits from some ageing. The Borgogno is a very rare specimen and shows great promise. Timorasso is a worthy and noble white variety, a genuine substitute for serious white burgundy, with more than a hint of white rhone.
Flight three: esoteric reds
- La Palazzina Bramaterra, 2010, magnum
- Vietti, La Crena, Barbera D’Asti, 2007
Two wines with a decent amount of age. The Vietti had an oxidative note but otherwise was a delight and a beautifully resolved mature Barbera, a variety which is easy to underestimate.The Palazzina Bramaterra from Alto Piedmonte was also a revelation. With only 12% alcohol, it is light on its feet, glides seamlessly across the palate and does not lack for depth, substance, and finish. The fact that this was a magnum and we finished it, in addition to the other 11 bottles, tells you all you need to know. Difficult to source, I did however manage to track down a few bottles of the 2013.
Flight four: 2016s
- Musso Barbaresco Pora, 2016
- Trediberri Barolo, 2016
- Burzi Barolo, 2016
The Musso was opened 3-4 hours in advance of drinking while the other two were popped and poured at the table and that dichotomy defined this flight. The Musso is a deep, brooding, serious, somewhat old school wine; full-bodied and intense with a strong backbone of acidity, it needs several years of cellaring. The Trediberri and the Burzi came across as lighter, prettier, more dextrous wines, both clearly very young. Of the two I preferred the Burzi, because I detected a bit of woodiness on the Trediberri. Both of these I would be happy to own, but I would not rush out and buy either now (given how many other 16 Barolos I have recently acquired). Neither impressed the way the Ettore Germano Cerretta did a few weeks ago. However, I am not sure, in hindsight, that popping and pouring them was ideal. For me the Musso was the pick of the flight, but I think I am in the minority there.
Flight five: 2009s (and a 1971)
- Oddero Bussia Mondoca, 2009
- Canonica Paiagallo, 2009
- Marchesi Di Barolo, Barolo, 1971
When I opened the Canonica around 4pm it was almost porty. It remained an uber ripe, alcoholic wine, which really pushes the envelope. It says 15% alcohol on the tin, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a degree higher. It would have been interesting to revisit on day two, but it was hard work on day one. The Oddero was warm and inviting, in line with the vintage credentials, but in contrast was beautifully balanced and perfectly resolved. It was difficult to articulate further at that stage of the evening, but I think it benefitted from being opened in the morning. Overall my wine of the night. The Marchesi was a late addition and while still in the land of the living was well past its best. All you got was soil, and nothing else; the fruit had exited a long time ago.
The initial intention was to have 8-9 wines, between the 6 of us. I don’t know how we got up to 12 (13 bearing in mind we had a magnum). Nevertheless a fabulous evening, with great company. I only had to negotiate two hundreds metres of pavement to get home. I would not be surprised if the others did not remember their journey back.
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