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After several visits to the Côte d’Or obsessing over pinot noir on the Côtes de Nuits over the years, I stayed further south this week closer to the hallowed soils of chardonnay. I tasted in the cellars of @domainerougeot with Pierre-Henri in Meursault, and later with Céline at Fontaine-Gagnard in Chassagne-Montrachet. I have written up these experiences and will post them soon. Beaune itself is a beautiful town, a place where those of us who are enthusiasts can immerse in wine, agriculture and gastronomy. I stayed with friends in Pommard and got to know this very charming village and its people quite well. Dinner at the freshly opened @chateaulacommaraine was stunning and quite the addition to this quiet hamlet. I have so much more to do in Bourgogne and will return in not too long. #bourgogne #meursault #chassagnemontrachet #pommard by @_janesaddictions_

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6 days ago

BROVIA: NOBLE FARMERS OF BAROLO
Barolo is made in the Langhe hills of Piedmont, from one grape, Nebbiolo. It’s pale and pinkish garnet brick coloured (generally), yet in terms of structure in the mouth (tannin, acid) you could expect a much darker wine. It took me some time to ‘get’ Barolo but when I did I fell hard and have been besotted ever since. It’s highly perfumed with cherry, roses, gravel and liquorice. Its tannic and angular structure begs for protein and fat. A roast chicken is my go to. The acidity cutting through the delicious fatty skin and the tannin driving the flavour with all that interplay happening down the back of the palate. Unreal alchemy.
The whole region of Barolo, for all its immense acclaim and fame is just 6km wide and 12km length. Tiny.
The variety’s defining trait is site. The same grape grown just metres apart makes different wine. Eg, fine and perfumed from La Morra, structured and solid from Serralunga.
Barolo is among the most hallowed wine country on earth and yet it remains appealingly down to earth. Vignerons like Elena and Cristina Brovia and Alex Sanchez are noble farmers. They retain the connection to terroir and tradition that comes from generations of family ownership.
@brovia_winery sits in Castiglione Falletto where several single vineyards are farmed - Rocche di Castiglione, Villero, Garblèt Suè, and the family also owns Brea Ca Mia in Serralunga.
I spent an afternoon with Alex exploring each of their vineyards in quite granular detail ie; down to how the leaves are managed over bunches in the heat. (BTW - climate change is a very serious problem and is changing the wines we love in real time. But that’s another issue for another time.)
These very pure wines really reflect the identity of the variety and the terroir and every single aspect.
They farm first and let each site naturally express itself. The wines are precise, aromatic, ethereal, shiny, not dry. We drank two 2021’s and they were delicious on the day, but of course could be cellared for years.
It is said so often, and not be glib, but the wines of Brovia are seriously underrated, many expertes agree. They are available in Australia. by @_janesaddictions_

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16 days ago

Italy is not all that well known for chardonnay, but more for its own regional white varieties like verdicchio, fiano, pinot grigio, carricante and so on.
As a chardonnay tragic though, I’ll try my desert island grape from anywhere and everywhere, just as long as it’s good.

Alto Adige or Südtirol, Italian or German depending which side of the war you’re looking at, is positioned between the Dolomites and the central Alps. Some vineyards are up to 1000m a.s.l, where the sturdy, cold-loving, native varieties like pinot bianco (some profound examples of this coming from high on the slopes), riesling and gewürztraminer and many more, flourish at high altitude.
Chardonnay though, needs a little more heat during the day to ripen, cold nights and winters are fine, but the mid slope (approx 250-250m a.s.l) is best for some extra sun in this marginal climate. It’s a complicated twist then that the high-level thinkers and uber-sustainable, regenerative producers of this region are making the wines of their lives because of climate change, the increasing temperatures ensure chardonnay can ripen. What a paradox.
It’s hot here in Umbria right now, no wonder that my mind goes to cooler parts. I drank 2019 Ladeger Löwengang in Milan, @trattoriamasuelli it had all the oomph and texture that I need from chardonnay, but with finesse and intricacy too. Full bodied, mineral rich and terrific tension. This tension is the hallmark of diurnal temperature swings where full ripeness is achieved, but good acid remains keeping the wine fresh and taught. Lageder is a biodynamic producer. Seven years in from a moderate vintage, not as hot as 2018, but a little warmer than my beloved 2017, the wine was open and balanced. Mmm, mmmm.
#chardonnaylovers #chardonnay #alpinewine #italianchardonnay #altoadige by @_janesaddictions_

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a month ago

My bestie, an actual restaurant critic, has said that restaurants are my church. I immediately identified when he made the call.
On Sunday I went to Trattoria Masuelli San Marco @trattoriamasuelli and had my heart broken in an inner suburb of Milan. It’s been in the same family since 1921, one of the last genuine Milanese trattorias holding the line on Lombard-Piedmontese cooking and proper service while the city around it turns into aperitivo theatre.
The room gives you that dreamy feeling you only get in spaces like this, perfectly designed in the 1920s and ’30s, maintained but never changed. Dignified preservation rather than self-conscious curation. The ceiling is deep indigo, the chairs original hand-carved Thonet, the linen white, the panelling timber. Venini chandeliers by Gio Ponti hang overhead, and a brass espresso machine holds its post by the door.
The service is unhurried and proper. I had a simple conversation with the maître d’ about wine, he went off to the cellar and came back with four bottles. A Gravner, a Bressan, a Maugeri Etna Bianco and an Alois Lageder. What a little selection! We went with the @alois.lageder 2019 Lowengang Chardonnay.
It carried us through baccalà crostini, salami, and of course risotto alla milanese. When the veal cutlet arrived, bone in, cooked in clarified butter, he brought a 2020 Barbaresco Rabajà from @castello_di_verduno Heaven. Then tiramisù. More enlightened commentators than me say these are the best examples of these dishes to be found anywhere. I’m not going to disagree.
Carlo Petrini (vale) who founded Slow Food, has said the movement’s major thinkers met in this very dining room. The place that quietly resists Milan’s drift into tourist spectacle turns out to be where the resistance was theorised in the first place.
The room filled with local families and their dogs, a few people on the food trail, and a good number of solo diners. Always a good sign.
Places like this aren’t built anymore. They’re only kept.
I leave Milan satisfied.
#risottomilanase #crubarbaresco #cotalettamilanese #tiramisu #milanofood by @_janesaddictions_

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a month ago

Timorasso — white Barolo??
Piedmont’s textural white with serious savoury credentials. Full-bodied and built with structure, this is one for drinkers who gravitate toward Chardonnay.

The variety had all but vanished before Walter Massa’s replanting work in the Tortona hills from the 1980s brought it back from the brink.

The high vigour, thin skinned, disease prone vine presents a real challenge in the vineyard and precise picking windows are essential, in lesser hands the wines can show flat and flabby. Done well, though, there’s real tension and phenolic grip, with genuine depth of flavour.

@cantinaditortona Piccolo is the simplest cuvée in their Timorasso range, an aperitif style wine made via cryomaceration, stainless steel fermentation and six months on lees. The result is citrusy and taut, with good interest and depth despite its entry-level position. At €38 on the list @elbrellin it’s excellent value.
Other producers lean into oak for richer, more textural expressions, while Massa and others push further still with oxidative winemaking and skin contact for the most complex styles on offer. It’s a matter of personal preference where you sit on this spectrum, from freshness, simplicity and purity through to ultra-textural…..or, like me, you may enjoy the best examples across the whole range.
To sum up: Timorasso is fascinating, and well worth seeking out. You can find some of the finest producers on the list at my beloved @distasiocitta @scopri_carlton in Melbourne. #timorasso #whitebarolo #elbrellin #vinoinmilano by @_janesaddictions_

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a month ago

My old boss @slattsg introduced me to this premise in 1997. Cappuccino is not a milky coffee with foam on top. by @_janesaddictions_

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a month ago

I’ve just landed in sensational Milano. So stylie. We’re in a quiet part of town, a sanctuary for jet lag recovery and recovery too from that irrepressible and automatic need to go out and take in the city. More food and wine to come, I promise. And fash, of course. by @_janesaddictions_

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a month ago

Celebrating a very special piece of news with friends yesterday ✨✨Thanks to the whole team @pipiskiosk for relaxed and attentive service, fabulous produce, and super skilled cooking.
And that @caviargiaveri pleeaassee 🙏🏻
@champagnesadimalot sublime Blanc de Blancs made by Cindy Malot
@grappanonino Amaro, I have long adored this drink made by three sisters. And that label, isn’t it just beautiful ⭐️ by @_janesaddictions_

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3 months ago

A favourite way to spend a night in Melbourne out and about doing Melbourne things.
A martini and ciccetti in the courtyard @distasiocollegamento
Fabulous new @jim.jarmusch film @cinemanova life affirming creativity and performances
Supper at heavenly @bistra.carlton where we just sank into another world for a little while 🦪🍔 drinking 2023
Thibaud Boudogon Anjou chenin blanc (they’ve news here too - JP Twomey is in the house)
I have a sweet spot for my companion too @michaelharden50
#nightout #cheeseburger #arthousecinema #walkfromthecity #northside by @_janesaddictions_

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3 months ago

My boy knows a good thing 😻
#dyquem #dyquemisalwaysinmylife #beautifulboy by @_janesaddictions_

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5 months ago

Nightmare in Elwood this morning when I dropped a case of Jean Michel Guillon and broke a bottle of grand cru #mazichambertin and a bottle of 1er cru #laperriere. You’d think I’d have learnt my lesson after the 1870-something d’yquem incident in Paris 🖤💔🫣🫣 #breakage #finewine #finewinetradgedy #finewinestories #grandcru #premiercru #redburgundy #oopsididitagain by @_janesaddictions_

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5 months ago

A few days in the Southern Flinders Ranges with family is always a tonic. Vegetables, eggs, beef, fruit all from the garden or the neighbour’s properties, remind me of why I love food and where it all began.

Having recently replaced the European plantings in my own garden in Melbourne with natives, I am interested in what Dad and his neighbours are growing. The heat in these parts means it’s all pretty much native plantings, there’s no way a hydrangea is going to make it in these parts.

And I still love hopping in the ute, heading off for a drive to a nearby town and coming across old colonial shearing sheds, characterful pubs, and eccentric little shops and roadside stalls.
#melrose #southernflindersranges #bushlife #countrylife #1992hilux by @_janesaddictions_

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5 months ago