<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was a regular at the restaurant, now called\n“IL Merlo,” when it was under different management and a different\nname. In March of this year, my friend Simone Fracassi, who likes to call\nhimself the “butcher of the Valdichiana” but is actually a supplier\nof meat and cured meats to the best Italian restaurants and a few Swiss\nMichelin-starred restaurants, hosted a lunch at Il Merlo in Lido di Camaiore,\nwith chef Angelo Torcigliani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The menu would have been as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tasting of the day’s crusted p\u00e2t\u00e9<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tourte di oca puree Subise<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salsa al cognac<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ballotina of wood pigeon and prized black\ntruffle<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Risotto with wood pigeon and horns of the dead<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Double-cooked goose<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Breast in mustard, orange, and lemon sauce\n(Maestro Martino’s recipe)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Legs cooked in goose fat, melting potatoes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Woodcock on a crouton of its gratin giblets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before dessert, we were also served woodcock\nbreast, cooked rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simone Fracassi’s guests were the following:\nMassimo Roghi, Davide Macaluso, Gionata Federigi, Andrea Lombardo, Alessandro\nVezzosi, Gianni Mercatali and myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I arrived at the appointment a little early,\njust in time to start sipping on champagne accompanied by a delicious focaccia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each guest brought a magnum bottle of wine, and\nat first one of the guests said, “That’s six magnums, let’s open a couple,\nthey’ll be enough.” To this, I replied, “They’ll all open,” and\nso it was. We were all relaxed and ready to spend a few pleasant hours\ntogether, enjoying these dishes and the wines that accompanied them. Chef\nAngelo Torcigliani was excellent; even the wood pigeon risotto was cooked al dente,\njust the way I like it. The only dish that left me perplexed was the rare\nwoodcock, which, I must confess, I didn’t like. Woodcock is like pigeon to me;\nI can’t eat them rare, unlike steak, which I like rare, with the inside warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before starting lunch, we ate some tasty\nfocaccia accompanied by “Jean Yves De Carlini” Champagne, a\nnon-vintage, chilled Blanc de Noirs that cooled well and delighted the palate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next up was a 2016 Barons de Rothschild\nchampagne, a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following are the 2022 Chianti Classico Peppoli\ndi Antinori and the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Mastrojanni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lunch continued with the uncorking of bottles.\nNext, the 2013 Coevo wine from Cecchi was opened, followed by the 2000 Fidenzio\nfrom Podere San Luigi. Unfortunately, the latter no longer exists due to the\npassing of its owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a mega high-quality lunch and chef Angelo\nTorcigliani was excellent at highlighting the quality of the food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The service was impeccable and the two\nwaitresses Paola and Vittoria pampered us completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before moving on to the analysis of the wines,\nit is necessary to make the following premise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the width of the\ntannin, it’s important to clarify the following points so it can be understood.\nI taste the tannin in the wine on the upper gum. The total width of the tannin\nis 6\/6, that is, the entire width of the upper gum. Obviously, if the tannin is\nless wide, it could be, for example, 5\/6, and so on. The width of the tannin is\nimportant when its quality is good or high. The wider the tannin, the more\nworthy of attention the wine is, but the tannin, as I specified, must, in any\ncase, be of good quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s now move on to\ndescribing the wines we tasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JEAN YVES DE CARLINI HOUSE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Blanc de Noirs Champagne<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Grand Cru Brut S.A.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (blend: 100% Pinot Noir)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Coppery golden yellow in\ncolor. The bubbles are fine and quite numerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the glass rise aromas\nof pine resin, green banana peel, hints of rosemary, raspberry, and pear,\nfinishing with woody notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the palate, it reveals a\nmedium body, fine bubbles, savory flavors, and the sweetness of the outer layer\nof the candy. A balanced wine with a freshness that envelops the alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its intense aromatic\npersistence is quite long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (89\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n HOUSE OF BARONS DE ROTHSCHILD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brut, vintage 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (blend: 51% Pinot Noir and 49% Chardonnay)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bright golden yellow with fine and fairly\nnumerous bubbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olfactory mix made up of aromas of brioche\nbread, quite ripe banana, woody, light lemon notes, finishing with hints of\nvanilla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The body is medium-sufficient. A savory and\nwell-balanced wine, with freshness completely dominating the alcohol. Its\nintense aromatic persistence is quite long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Better on the nose than on the taste. \n (89\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MARQUIS ANTINORI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n PEPPOLI CHIANTI CLASSICO D.O.C.G., 2022 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (blend: 90% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet\nSauvignon and Syrah)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Light ruby \u200b\u200bred, transparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nose composed of aromas of cherry, mint,\neucalyptus, light notes of cotton starch, plum, finishing with hints of tomato\npreserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the palate, it reveals a medium, adequate\nbody and a good balance between alcohol and freshness. The tannins are sweet,\nquite broad (5\/6), and velvety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its intense aromatic persistence is long with a\nfinish of cherry and plum<\/p>\n\n\n\n (89\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MASTROJANNI COMPANY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brunello di Montalcino D.O.C.G., 2015 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Garnet red robe with a fine orange edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the glass rise aromas of mint, eucalyptus,\nblack marasca cherry, intense notes of peanut, green tea, clean sea water (it\nis similar to the white inner part of the watermelon rind), finishing with\nhints of worked leather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the palate it reveals a medium body and a\ngood balance between alcohol and freshness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tannins are sweet, quite broad (5\/6),\ninitially velvety and then drying out the upper gum a bit. Its flavour\npersistence is long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (93\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CECCHI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n COEVO TASCANA IGT, 2013 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (blend: 50% Merlot di Maremma and 50% Sangiovese\ndi Castellina in Chianti)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Intense ruby \u200b\u200bred colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charismatic nose composed of aromas of plum, blueberry,\ncherry, Marseille soap, star anise and sweet licorice that reminds me of\n“Morositas” sweets, sweet “Clan” pipe tobacco, black\npepper, nutmeg, juniper berry and broken almond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the palate, it has a medium body and is\nperfectly balanced. The tannins are sweet, broad (6\/6-), thick and silky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its intense aromatic persistence is long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (95\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SAN LUIGI FARM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n FIDENZIO, TOSCANA IGT, 2000 vintage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (blend:\nCabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\nshines with an intense ruby \u200b\u200bred and purple colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olfactory\nfan made up of aromas of mint, eucalyptus, sweets from the outside of the\ncandy, cocoa powder, coffee grounds, blueberry, blackberry, black pepper,\nnutmeg, black cherry, fresh plum and light dried plum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On\ntasting the body is medium and the wine has an intense flavour of dried plum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Excellent\nbalance between alcohol and freshness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ntannins are sweet, thick, broad (6\/6–), initially velvety, then slightly\ndrying the upper gum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its\nflavour is long-lasting with a finish of ripe black cherry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (96\/100)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After\nthis pleasant lunch, we were all incredibly satisfied with the company, the\nfood, and the wine. When Simone Fracassi organizes an event, it’s always\ntop-notch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was a regular at the restaurant, now called “IL Merlo,” when it was under different management and a different name. In March of this year, my friend Simone Fracassi, who likes to call himself the “butcher of the Valdichiana” but is actually a supplier of meat and cured meats to the best Italian restaurants […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16594,"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":[],"class_list":["post-16622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG-20250317-WA0010.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pav13q-4k6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16622","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=16622"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16625,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16622\/revisions\/16625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paolobaracchino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}