2001 Giusto di Norti, Tua Rita

[TheEngineer]

Went to dinner with some clients (five guys, me, one from Amsterdam, one from london, and two from Milan) tonight in Milan. It was a warm evening and the sky was cloudless. A bit humid, but a sweet italian night if there ever was one.

My clients chose the location and it was outside of the downtown core. This initially disappointed me as I was looking forward to a real Tuscan dinner in a nice location.

So I took a taxi to the restaurant and was not exactly thrilled when I arrived. Outside is a residential area and the front down is beside a small gas station,....very unimpressive.

At this point in time, I must tell you that this was without a doubt, one of the best Tuscan dinners that I've every had,.... period. The place was calle Il Borghetto, in Northern Milan (Via Comune Antico, 1 just in case you are interested).

Unimpresseive visually until you walk into the door....what a HUGE change.....You walk into a small lobby area and you can already see a very loarge and charming Italian courtyard in the middle. Absolutely lovely and inviting! In the middle of this courtyard was a looonnngg (25 foot) table FILLED with antipasti filled with every type of vegetable, fish, meat, etc antipasti that you've ever seen and a few others I could not even recognize. One of the stations has a piece of Lardo that was as big as a piece of proscuitto. It just melted in your mouth,....beautiful, and the meat stand...wow, amazing. All the veggies, the fish, the marinated garlic, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc,.... I would need many plates in order to try a little each.

Dinner consistend of a Florentine Porterhouse that was the size of my head.... What a steak. and desert, etc,.. just amazing. If you are in Milan, worth a trip. Hell if you are in France, its worth a trip!

Okay so the wine. I can't remember the Brunello I ordered except it was a 97 and it was amazing. But the 2001 Giusto di Nortis, Tua Rita, well....this thing blew the Brunello away,... The wine was very deep in color, black almost, no sign of aging, the nose was stunning, very complex, current, peppery, minerally, and slightly sweet herby. The wine itself was very dense, but not thick, slightly sweet finish. The wine itself was incredibly well structured. It is made from Cabernet Sauv, merlot and Cab Franc but like a good italian wine, there is a nice acidity behind it. It ia an elegant and powerful wine. Amazing.

Dinner was finished with a bit of grappa from Secolo that was ethereal. I like grappa but I love this one. Light and elegant, not rough and course.

Of course, they wanted to finish dinner with some Biscotti (fresh, i mean just out of the oven) and vinsanto. Vinsanto from Tuscany,.... So I tried to tell the italians that Vinsanto was from Greece, specifically from Santorini (I tried to defend this Foodie, I did,...btw, you would LOVE this restaurant).... The Italians laughed, and laughed and laughed. Of course Vinsanto is from Tuscany,.....what do you mean Greece,... HAHAHAHAHAHAH. I tried once more only to recognize that it was a worthless cause and give into the sweet summer Milan night.

Sometimes life is just so worth living.


[This message has been edited by TheEngineer (edited 07-30-2009).]