Barbacarlo 1996, Azienda Agricola Barbacarlo

Dear readers,

Today we’re talking about the Barbacarlo: a wine with a very distinct nature.

We are in Oltrepò, just a few minutes walk from Pavia, exactly on the hills of Broni, particularly suitable for producing high quality wines. Even Napoleon knew that: in fact, he appreciated wine from these hills.
The actual name, Barbacarlo, was born later in 1886, when the great grandfather of Lino Maga bequeathed the hills to his grandchildren: the uncle Carlo had the title of “Barba”, so, in his honor, the grandchildren called that territory Barbacarlo.

The Barbacarlo consists of three grapes, a blend quite variable in percentage from vintage to vintage: Uva rara, Croatina and Barbera.
I was lucky enough to find on the internet a 1996 vintage bottle and I was very happy to try its resistance to aging: still, I’m enraptured by the complexity of the evolution of this masterpiece.
The 1996 vintage is slightly sparkling, with a great freshness and flavor: a 1996 vintage wine with this kind of freshness is very difficult to find.

At the nose, aromas of vinyl glue, ripe red fruits, compote of candied fruits, nutmeg, slightly earthy, camphor, spices and a hint of mild green bell pepper.

On the palate, this wine is rounded, with a good length, persistence and elegance. The tannin is very well educated.

I recommend to try it alone, without pairing food, to better understand its complexity and harmony; but if you really want to enjoy it with food, I recommend you to pair it with aged and hard cheese, game, braised meat and stew.

What a wine, guys!

Bignè with smoked salmon mousse

Happy new year and welcome back dear readers,

Today I thought of a super fast recipe that you can really prepare in 5 minutes and it will be ideal for your interesting starters, the Bignè with smoked salmon mousse.
If you do not have available the Bignè, you can spread the salmon mousse on a classic sandwiches or toasted bread, much easier to find.

And now we start!

Ingredients:

100g of mascarpone cheese (or philadelphia cheese or cream cheese) (3.5 oz)
100g of smoked salmon (3.5 oz)
50g of fresh whipped cream (1.7 oz)
the right amount of pink pepper and salt
15/20 empty Bignè

Preparation

Cut the salmon into thin slices and add the mascarpone.
Started to blend the mixture with the mixer, taking care to add gradually milk to facilitate the blending.

Add salt, the pink pepper and whip the fresh cream with the electric beater.
Add two tablespoons of whipped cream, stir the mousse, fill the Bignè and we have finished!

Conservation

You can store the smoked salmon mousse for a maximum of two days in a sealed plastic or glass jar in the refrigerator.

And the wine?

For the Bignè with smoked salmon mousse I chose a Cruasé Oltrepò Pavese 2009 vintage, produced by Bruno Verdi.

The Cruasé is a “Metodo Classico” (also known as Champenoise method) rosé, obtained by the vinification of Pinot Noir grapes, at least 85% of the total amount.

With a beautiful grain and fine and persistent bubbles, this Cruasé Bruno Verdi has an excellent flavor, good freshness, good persistence and structure.

At the nose, aromas of lemon, lime and citrus fruits in general.
On the palate is quite soft and has a good mousse that favors the pairing with our recipe!

And now, Bon Appetit!