In September I\nhad the pleasure of being invited to dinner by my friend Luca Silvestri, owner\nof a smiling hotel in Forte dei Marmi. Why smiling? Because blue and white\nstand out in the color of the walls and furnishings. I have known Luca for\nseveral years as a great wine enthusiast. We have several friendships in\ncommon, linked to the pleasure of food and wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luca is a\nunique person and one never ceases to be indebted to him for his hospitality\nand generosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The staff who\nwork for him are always smiling and kind. I recently stayed overnight in his\nhotel and since it was a Saturday he asked me if I would like to have dinner\nwith him and his friend Ermes Cattaneo, a dealer in rare wines, who I had\nalready met previously at his place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What a\nmemorable dinner, food, drinks and company. We were all accompanied by our\nladies. Everyone brought wines for dinner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The menu was\nestablished by Luca and the wines were opened and served by his meter Antonio\nBertuccelli, a competent and polite person who made the evening even more\npleasant for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dinner\nbegan with fried prawns, very lean Gillardeau oysters and fried prawns,\nfollowed by Catalan shellfish dish washed down with Bruno Paillard magnum\nchampagne blanc de Blancs, 2016 vintage and Champagne J de Telmont Blanc de\nBlancs Grand Couronnement 2006 vintage. The culinary journey continued with\nspaghetti with tomatoes and razor clams accompanied by Chablis from Domaine\nFrancois Ravenau Monts Mains, 2002 vintage and the Austrian riesling Franz Hir\nTzberger Hochrain, 2004 vintage, fearfully mineral on the nose (kerosene). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afterwards we\nwere served a huge oven-cooked croaker paired with a fantastic Sassicaia, 1982\nvintage which left everyone stunned by its youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since there was\nalso Giuseppe Quintarelli’s Alzero 1990 to drink, Luca thought it best to pair\nit with flakes of 60 and 72 month old Parmigiano Reggiano. Perfect match! The\n1985 vintage Santo Giusto wine from the San Giusto company in Rentennano was\nopened and tasted in the small pastry shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What a magnificent\nevening, spent with people who love high quality wine and authentic, tasty\ncuisine from times gone by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s now move\non to describing the wines of the evening, but I must clarify the following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the\nwidth of the tannin, it is important to make the following clarifications so\nthat it can be understood. I feel the tannin of the wine on the upper gum. The\ntotal width of the tannin is 6\/6, i.e. the entire width of the upper gum.\nObviously, if the tannin is less broad, it could be for example 5\/6 and so on.\nThe width of the tannin is important when the quality of the tannin is of good\nor high level. The larger the tannin, the more worthy of attention the wine is,\nbut the tannin, as I have specified, must, in any case, be of good quality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s\nnow move on to describing the wines tasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRUNO PAILLARD HOUSE <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Blanc de Blancs, annata 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (large format)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Golden yellow\nshines from the glass with quite fine and numerous bubbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon olfactory\nexamination, the generous mineral and cocoa butter aromas stand out, followed\nby the sweetness of the outside of the candy, light citrus fruits, Piedmontese\nhazelnut, almond shell and starch of the cotton fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mouth rich in\nflavor and minerality. The bubbles are fine and pleasant. Flavor of almond shell\nand lemon. The body is medium and the wine is well balanced between alcohol and\nfreshness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its flavor persistence is long with a chestnut honey finish. (94\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n HOUSE J DE TELMONT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n GRAND CORONATION, annata 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n White of Whites.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shiny light golden yellow\nappearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bubbles are fine and\nnumerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olfactory mix composed of\naromas of mineral, white pepper, green banana peel and peanut butter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The taste has richness of\nflavor and minerality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bubbles are fine and\npleasant and the wine has a medium body. The freshness completely envelops the\nalcoholic mass making the wine well balanced. Mild honey flavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its taste persistence is\nlong with a lemon finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its rich freshness makes it clear its long aging potential. (95\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n DOMAIN FRANCOIS RAVENAU<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Monts Mains, annata 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chablis 1er <\/sup>Cru<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Light golden yellow robe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon olfactory examination,\nthe aroma of apple distillate stands out (it reminded me of Calvados),\nconcentrated mint from the “After eight” chocolate, woody wood, wood\nsmoke, wild and mountain pasture flowers, daisy and pear thigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The flavor is rich. The body is medium and the freshness completely dominates the alcoholic mass. Its taste persistence is long. (94\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n FRANZ HIR TZBERGER HOCHRAIN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Riesling Smaragd, annata 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n WachauAustria<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Golden yellow colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the nose there are\naromas of chamomile, apricot, kerosene, mint and a pleasant and intense note of\njuniper berry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the palate it is richly\nsavory and mineral with a chamomile flavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The body is medium plus and\nis perfectly balanced with the freshness that dominates the alcoholic mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its intense aromatic persistence is very long with residual sugar and lemon flavour. (94\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n TENUTA SAN GUIDO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sassicaia, 1982 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (grape variety: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Light garnet red colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olfactory\nkaleidoscope characterized by the intense scent of smoke, followed by plum,\nblackberry, mint, light eucalyptus, sea water (it is the same as the white\ninternal part of the watermelon peel), blackberry jam, string of licorice,\nnutmeg, light rust, bergamot and boiled chestnut with dried wild fennel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fruity\nmouthfeel of slightly dry plum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The body is\nmedium and the generous freshness completely dominates the alcoholic mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tannins are sweet and broad (6\/6), <\/strong>initially velvety and then drying the upper gum a little. Its taste persistence is long. (96\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n GIUSEPPE\nQUINTARELLI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ALZERO,\n1990 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (grape\nvariety: 40% Cabernet Franc, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Intense ruby \u200b\u200bred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nose\ncomposed of intense aromas of dried plum, dried black fig, mint, blackberry\njam, licorice, coffee powder and red rose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On\nthe palate it has the flavor of dried black fig, licorice and dried plum. The\nbody is medium and the tannins are sweet, broad (6\/6), initially velvety and\nthen drying the upper gum a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its taste persistence is long. (96\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SAN GIUSTO IN RENTENNARNO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n VIN SANTO GIUSTO, vintage 1985<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (grape variety: 90% Malvasia and 10% Trebbiano)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amber yellow dress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nose rich in multiple\naromas among which stand out rue leaf, tomato leaf, peach leaf, hints of coffee\npowder, dried fig, slightly green apricot jam, lemon, walnut husk, slightly\ngreen wild blackberry, to finish with light woody whiffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pleasant sweetness on the\npalate with a dry white fig flavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The body is medium and the\nwine is well balanced, thanks to the generous freshness that completely\nenvelops the alcoholic mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its taste persistence is long with a dry white fig finish. (96\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In September I had the pleasure of being invited to dinner by my friend Luca Silvestri, owner of a smiling hotel in Forte dei Marmi. Why smiling? Because blue and white stand out in the color of the walls and furnishings. I have known Luca for several years as a great wine enthusiast. We have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[137,698,701],"class_list":["post-15111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","tag-paolo-baracchino","tag-raffaelli","tag-serata-a-forte-dei-marmi","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IMG-20240919-WA0086.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pav13q-3VJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15111"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15115,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15111\/revisions\/15115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}