Boscaini Recioto della Valpolicella 1991
Batasiolo Barolo 1987

The occassion was a long Italian lunch and it was an excuse to open several bottles that had been languishing in the cellar for close to a third of one's life.

The name Recioto comes from the word recce which in dialect means the ear (Italian, orecchio), signifying the top shoulders of the grape bunch which receive greater exposure, therefore richer in concentration of sugar. The wine is very sweet and even after 19 years in the bottle was still tasting very good. Preparation of the grapes is similar to the making of Amarone, laid out on trays and left to dry in airy lofts ensuring no moisture enters to rot them. The difference between Amarone and Recioto being that the latter suger content is not completely fermented out. The alcohol content of this bottle was 15%.

The Barolo was very brown around the edges of the glass and showing it's 23 years of age. Produced from Nebiolo grapes grown south-east of Alba the wines are generally quite tannic. The tannins were quite soft in this bottle after so much time, but the structure was still intact and though the fruit was subdued, it was still pleasurable to drink and enjoy a wine of this age. The alcohol content was 13.5%

Virtually all the wines drunk at this (long) lunch were Italian and enjoyed as they were meant to be, with Italian food.