what:
DOCG
Piedmont, Italy
100% Nebbiolo
aged at least 2 years in oak,
at least 3 years old at release
where:
Enoteca Al Volto
Calle Sarasina
30100 Venice
when:
midwinter
character:
Barolo is the greatest tenor in the world. An immense (though light complexioned)
physical presence on stage, he is capable of captivating on personality
alone. Ah, but that voice. The voice. The delivery at once powerful
and smooth, the intonation absolute perfection, and he can climb the scale
as high as you like, with ease. Yet these are but the fundamentals, the
basic elements which make him merely great. What is more—what makes
him The Great—is the overwhelming force of charismatic energy thundering
through each note that sends a shiver through the audience, and is heard
absolutely nowhere else on earth. True, in youth he has had trouble controlling
such tremendous raw talent; but with age (say, fifteen years or so), with
time, with experience, those harsh notes mellow into a purity of tone which
is quite simply without rival. It has been said, quite astutely, that to
hear him live and in top form is ‘a life-enhancing event.’ One
has no choice but to agree.
tastes like:
Pavarotti. In top form. Live.
pairs nicely with:
Patience, contemplation, and long contemplation on the virtue (and eventual
rewards) of patience; La Scalla, Palais Garnier, and Wiener Staatsoper;
the light tap of wine glasses being returned to a tabletop in absolute silence;
Ali, Affirmed, and Beckenbauer; being four years old and taken, for the
first time, to The Met to see a performance of Ballo, and pointedly
told to stop looking at the audience and pay attention so as to remember
that you saw that rather large chap on stage, named Luciano; as well as
gold, diamonds, and Verdi.