Dinner at Enoteca Italiana

This was a lovely dinner with CK and CP at what has become one of my favourite places in Bangkok - as good an Italian meal as I can remember having for a very long time in fact. Two bottles of wine, both classic expressions of their terroir, went really well with the food.

• 2007 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

  This was good - still very young, but I must say that it was nevertheless very enjoyable with a short decant. The nose was a bit tight but even then rather surprisingly expressive for a young Rancia. These usually are so shy in their first formative years, but this bottle showed ripe little notes of dark cherries and dried berries, a dusting of plums, and some very Tuscan nuances of toasty earth, dried herbs and smoked meat. Nice stuff. The palate was rather less developed than the nose, but was also very pleasant. Mid-bodied, it showed ripe, slightly roasted flavours of cherries and berries kissed by a touch of sundried tomatoes, a lovely dolllop of well-integrated acidity, and more earthy, spicy notes as the wine drifted away into a slightly savoury, smoky finish. Yum. Still a baby, so the wine came across as rather primary and still wore a cloak of fine, but firmish tannins over most of the palate. However, this was a nice, energetic Chianti that gave a lot of pleasure even in its youth. It kept getting better with time, espiecially with some cold-cuts on the plate, with the wine showing more nuanced fresh fruit notes and little drifts of smoke and mineral towards the finish. A nice bottle with a lot of potential - one to try again in 5 to 6 years' time, although it should develop for far longer than that.

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• 2007 Bartolo Mascarello Barbera d'Alba Vigna San Lorenzo 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba

  A lovely drink. This must be just about the best Barbera I have ever had, quite comprehensively stealing the attention from a pretty good bottle of 2007 Felsina Rancia Chianti Classico that was served alongside. It had a lovely nose, with loamy earth aromas wafting out alongside, a bit of game meat and truffle scents a nice background of black cherry and violet aromas. Really pretty. The palate spoke so well of both its terroir and varietal - it was a classic Piedmont and quite the embodiment of what I would imagine a top-notch Barbera d'Alba to be, with dusty, earthy nuances playing alongside really attractive flavours of cherries and black cherries ringed with a touch of almost dried violet petals and little bits of earthy truffles. Delicious stuff, quite bursting with character and personality. It was lighter weight than the Chianti, but certainly had no lack of depth. 14% alcohol in fact, but one would never have guessed. Best of all, this was all framed by some lovely fine tannins and bright juicy acidity that made the wine so very drinkable and a perfect foil for the Piedmontese food we had. It was just about perfect with a brilliant pigeon tortellini with a drizzle of port reduction. The pigeon jus in each piece of tortellini both married with the gamey inflections of the wine, as well as the sweeter fruit and flower notes, which all served to augment the dish. Great stuff - this is one wine I could drink over and over again.

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