An Evening at Aggio

About a week and a half ago, Mallory and I and another couple met at Chef Bryan Voltaggio's newest establishment, Aggio. The same concept as Aggio in Washington, DC (though this one is stand-alone as opposed to within another restaurant concept), this is Chef Voltaggio's first foray into Baltimore.

His timing is perfect, with the dearth of good Italian restaurants in Baltimore (Cinghiale aside!). And the evening was near perfect as well.

Aggio is located just outside the "gates" of Power Plant Live, where the Asian restaurant Tatu was once located. It is a couple of storefronts down from the Power Plant Live plaza, which limits the noise and the hullabaloo and hopefully restricts some of their patrons from stumbling in. Entering the restaurant seemed to challenge some people, as we saw more than one group attempt to come in via the patio doors, which were locked. A series of planters block the main entrance, funneling diners entering from the west onto the patio. When you go, make sure to enter underneath the awning!

The footprint of the space is the same as when it was Tatu, though there is new lighting, upgraded seating, and a new color scheme. I'm not quite sure why, but Italian and Italian-American movies were being projected onto the wall near the front entrance.

Mallory and I sat down at the bar to wait for our friends and ordered a quick drink. The first thing we noticed? The lights are bright. If you don't like to feel as if you're in the spotlight, the bar proper may not be for you. Ask to sit at one of the tables against the side wall if that's the case. The second thing we noticed? The bar is top shelf. No displays of flavored vodkas or Pucker; just lines of top-notch Italian apertifs and digestifs, fantastic high-end spirits, and an upper shelf of quality whiskey and Scotch.

After our friends arrived, we were seated at our table. Again with the lighting! It was a great table far from traffic patterns and the bar area, but directly underneath a seriously bright, undimmable (trust me, we asked!) CFL. I'm all for lowering your energy costs, but a good doc could have operated by that light! After a few minutes, we spoke to our server and he graciously offered to relocate us to a darker section of the restaurant. We were much obliged.

After being handed the menu - and having a few minutes to look it over - our group decided to forgo main courses and instead make a meal of piccolo piatti, antipasti, and primi. It was a decision we did not regret.

Note: As I cannot speak to the plates our friends had, I will only be commenting on dishes Mallory and I had.

Upon placing our orders, we asked to meet one of the Sommeliers, Chris Coker, who happens to be a bit of a legend on the Baltimore wine scene. Chris has a history of working at some of the best wine-centric restaurants in the city. From Corks with Jerry Pellegrino, to Blue Grass in South Baltimore, to Jack's Bistro before moving to Aggio, Chris has a reputation of finding spectacular bottlings for the price point that pair amazingly well his chef's menus. He did not disappoint! We simply told Chris that we wanted two bottles - a red and a white - that would pair reasonably well with what we were trying to order (not an easy task when we had six plates total, and eight different dishes, to pair). His choices turned out to be perfect.

After we had ordered our food and wine, a server started the meal off on a high note with bread for the table accompanied by housemade whipped ricotta cheese and a Parmesan funnel cake. Yes, you read that right. Parmesan. Funnel. Cake. Now the housemade ricotta put any other ricotta I've had around here to shame. But this was Parmesan funnel cake! The same consistency of the stuff you get at the state fair (though not nearly as greasy!), but with a tangy twinge of Parmesan that elevated it to massive heights!

A few seconds after we were done fighting over the scraps of funnel cake, our wine arrived. Chris had chosen a 2013 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis to match our first few courses, and a 2011 Passopisciaro Etna Rosso as the red to round out dinner. The Roero Arneis went amazingly with the Burrata courses we had. The full bodied white wine matched the creaminess of the burrata and was unfazed by the peaches and prosciutto the cheese was resting on. Fantastic dish + wonderful wine = happy couple! Everything on the plate played off of and enhanced the other ingredients while leaving the burrata as the star attraction. The beets paired well with the wine also, as the combination of pine nuts, rosemary, and beets along with peppery arugula simply shined.

After a bit of a break, the first course of pasta arrived. First the Lasagna, then the Ricotta Gnocchi. We counted at least nine layers on the lasagna dressed perfectly with a lamb bolognese and accented with a unique smoked pecorino. Certainly the most labor intensive lasagna I've ever seen, and one of the best too. Next time, I'll take a double! Then, the Ricotta Gnocchi, which had just the right amount of heat on the back end thanks to chili flakes in the pomodoro, and just a bit of fat from pancetta that made it great with the Etna Rosso and not too bad with the Roero Arneis.

This is where the evening became a bit more interesting. As Aggio has pretty much impeccable service, they employ a team technique to your table, which means you are taken care of by a number of servers, seemingly without one in charge. It makes for a wonderful service, but holes can develop - which is what happened to us. Seemingly our team forgot to fire our second course of pasta! However, after about 40 minutes (thankfully the company - and the wine - was wonderful) Chris returned to our table, apologized for the delay and offered us complimentary dessert and another glass of wine to accompany our final savory course. This was completely unexpected, most welcome, and really topped the evening off. And the wine, a 2012 Bruno Rocca Nebbiolo Langhe, was spectacular, not to mention off-list. Oddly enough for a Nebbiolo, this was bright and fruity with only a hint of tannin for structure.

A few moments later, our final pasta dishes came out. First, the Corn Cappellacci. If anyone has ever been to Volt (Chef Voltaggio's first restaurant, in Frederick, MD), you know how wonderful the Corn Ravioli can be. This is just as good; seemingly summer on a plate with some basil and slowly cooked tomatoes accompanying a bright, fresh pillow of pasta stuffed with corn and ricotta. It was the highlight of the meal. Then onto the Strozzapretti, with an oxtail ragu highlighted by a bit of orange flavoring and bittered by dark chocolate that really hit it off with the Nebbiolo.

We wrapped up the meal with two wonderful desserts, Affogatto and Tiramisu. The Affogatto was the traditional dessert, with a perfectly pulled espresso poured over salted caramel ice cream (our choice!). It was a unique combination to say the least, but one that worked pretty well. But it was the Tiramisu that really surprised us, as when it arrived it looked absolutely nothing like traditional Tiramisu. Instead, it took a page from the Volt book of whimsy and came to the table deconstructed, with mascarpone ice cream, a coffee "cloud", and coffee-chocolate "soil" topping the dish. It was presented wonderfully, and came together rather spectacularly at the end.

After a wonderful evening, our group departed Aggio happy, satiated, and ready to return. The night was incredible, and Chris Coker and the rest of the Aggio team made a group of everyday people feel like the most important table in the restaurant. Though not perfect, Aggio took responsibility for their mistakes, and made things right - something not many restaurants are willing to do nowadays. For that reason alone, we would return. But the food, the wine, and the service made it an experience we soon won't forget. Aggio, we will be back.

I'm On a Boat!

This past Friday, Mallory and I took advantage of an invitation to attend a Benovia Winery tasting aboard the M/Y Bella Una, a 127-foot super yacht that was docked at the Harborview Marina and Yacht Club in south Baltimore.  It was truly the experience of a lifetime and one that may not be duplicated any time soon.

The yacht was moored at K-dock, the farthest from the Yacht Club entrance.  After walking down past numerous other docks (and wondering if we were headed in the right direction), we came to a gated entrance that an attendant had to open for us.  With the exception of the Tiki Barge, this is clearly the dock reserved for the super yachts.  A number of 100+ footers were moored here, with the Bella Una being the second one past Tiki Barge.  Even though we never left the dock, it turned out to be the perfect viewing location of everything happening on the water.  The marina was right in the middle of the Star-Spangeled Spectacular, and there were tall ships, military vessels, and private watercraft all around us.

Upon checking in - and being asked to remove our shoes - we boarded the vessel and were immediately greeted with a glass of Benovia's 2013 Rose of Pinot Noir.  It was the perfect way to begin our evening, and is a gorgeous pairing for an evening on the water.  At $24 retail, get a case!

From there, it was into the salon where there were two tasting stations (Chardonnay at one, Pinot Noir at the other), an hors d'oeuvre station, and a flat paneled television that rose up out of its housing in a wooden cabinet to display incredible views of the Benovia property.

We began tasting through the Chardonnay being offered:

2012 Russian River Valley Chardonnay - A tasty Chard primarily from Benovia's Martaella estate vineyard, blended with the wares of a few other Sonoma County growers.

2012 Ft. Ross-Seaview Chardonnay - What was described to us the most "Burgundian" of Benovia's offerings coming from selected blocks in the Charles Vineyard near the town of Seaview, CA.

2011 La Pommeraie Chardonnay - My favorite of the bunch, aged for 16 months in a combination of new and old oak from a vineyard that was once an apple orchard (hence the name - Pommeraie is "apple orchard" in French) on the edge of Green Valley.  Though more new oak is used in this than the Ft. Ross-Seaview, its presence is much more nuanced here and - to me - integrated more seamlessly.

As the salon was getting a bit crowded during our tasting (and along with not wanting to be "those people" who crowd tasting tables never to allow other guests to taste), we began exploring the boat.  Moving upstairs, we found a sitting room that had been turned into yet another tasting salon.  This appeared to be the sitting room for the main cabin (though don't quote me on that), which was not open to the group tasting.  Deciding to see what more there was, Mallory and I went outside and climbed the stairs to the sun deck, complete with hot tub, bar, and wonderful views of downtown Baltimore.

It was up here next to the fly bridge (where my wine glass is resting in the above photo) that we camped for awhile, enjoying the wonderful harbor breezes and drinking in the view during the Baltimore sunset.  It also didn't hurt that the Bella Una crew was continually bringing canapes and hors d'oeuvres up to us, either!

Pretty soon, we had exhausted the Chardonnay offerings and moved onto the Pinot Noir that was in the downstairs salon:

2012 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir - As with the Russian River Chardonnay, this is a blend of Pinot from Benovia's estate vineyards along with select fruit from other Sonoma County growers.  Very approachable, this is a wine you could easily sip all night long.

2012 Martaella Pinot Noir - The first of the single vineyard estate Pinot Noir bottlings, this is a brand new offering for 2012.  There seemed to be a bit more depth and concentration than the Russian River.  I liked this more and more as the evening went on and I had the opportunity to revisit it.

2012 Tilton Hill Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir - Another single vineyard bottling, this Pinot Noir is sourced from the coldest of Benovia's estate vineyards, this one located on the coast only a couple of miles from the ocean.  The vineyards have been planted at high density, forcing the vines to fight harder for water and nutrients resulting in smaller vines with fruit of a higher intensity than expected.  The vineyard was planted in 2009.  Hands down, this was my favorite offering of the evening.  Although I think this might get a bit better as time goes on, it's already smooth and refined on the palate, with a nose that jumps out at you screaming, "It's Pinot, you jacka$$!!"  This is the very first offering of Tilton Hill Pinot Noir that Benovia has produced.

2012 La Pommeraie Pinot Noir - This Russian River single vineyard Pinot is sourced from the same Frei Road vineyard as the Chardonnay (obviously!) and is coopered the same way too.  For me, it was quite interesting to see how nearly identical oak aging can affect white wine and red wine so differently.  I'm sure service temperature played a role as well, but to me there was more of an oak influence here. 

Shuttling between the "tasting room" on the main deck and our spot on the sun deck got a bit tiring, so we again explored the boat a bit as it continued to get darker, taking in different views of the city from different parts of the boat.

It was during this time of exploration that we caught a fantastic view of the Pride of Baltimore II making its way under full sail into the Inner Harbor.  This on-the-water view was simply unbeatable.

We then moved our way upstairs to round out the tasting.  At the final table were:

2012 Cohn Vineyard Pinot Noir - Truly a spectacular representation of California Pinot Noir.  Made from 44 year old vines from the Cohn estate vineyard outside of Healdsburg, this wine is extremely difficult to find outside of the winery (or events like this!) - only 149 cases were produced.  Dry- and organically-farmed, these old vines (by California standards, at least) only produce a yield of one ton per acre.  This wine has staying power too, with quite a finish.  All in all a beautiful wine, and Mallory's favorite of the evening.

2012 Sonoma County Zinfandel - Another very nice wine, this - to me - is a perfect representation of Sonoma County Zinfandel that can stand up with the Ridge's of the world.  Also coming from the Cohn Vineyard, it's a fruity Zin that has an intensity on the palate that proves to be stellar with dark chocolate (as we found out first hand).

It was up here that we learned the Bella Una has more than a cursory connection to Benovia Winery.  It's owned by Joe Anderson and Mary Dewane, the husband and wife proprietors of Benovia.  When we first got the invite, the name of the boat rang a bell, but I couldn't figure out why. After learning this interesting piece of information, I checked the listing of what we have in the cellar, and there it was! 2011 Bella Una Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.  Old media information from the Benovia website states it's a blend from the Dutton Manzana Vineyard and Martinelli Vineyards.  As Benovia still utilizes Martinelli vineyards (they own the Frei Road vineyards from which La Pommeraie Chardonnay and Pinot Noir comes from), I can only speculate that the Dutton Manzana Vineyard was not used for any of their offerings this time around.

Armed with a little more of the history of Benovia Vineyards from talking with Joe for a bit, we spent the rest of our evening walking around the vessel, exploring the bridge and the bow area, revisiting some of our favorites from the evening, and simply soaking in all that our great city of Baltimore has to offer on what proved to be one of the best nights of the year to be out on the water.

Apologies for the quality of the photos - it was quite dark when we disembarked!

The World's Most Expensive Cabernet Franc

This past Thursday, Mallory and I had the pleasure of attending a Winemaker's Tasting at Bin 604 Wine Sellers in Harbor East.  The winemaker whose wares were being featured that evening?  None other than Jonathan Maltus of Château Teyssier and World's End.

Maltus had quite a busy few days in the Baltimore area, with a wine dinner scheduled at Farmstead Grill and tastings at both Bin 604 and Bin 201 Wine Sellers in Annapolis.  But it seemed the real reason he was in town was to visit Robert Parker at his Monkton home, bottles of his newest releases in tow.

That aside, the experience with Jon Maltus was the most informative I've been fortunate enough to take part of at Bin 604, and without a doubt the best set of wines I've ever tasted through at the shop.  Cheers to the folks at The Bin who were able to bring him in.

The wines that were featured at the tasting were:

World's End:
2010 "If Six Was Nine" Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 "Wavelength" Sugarloaf Mountain Proprietary Red
2010 "Good Times, Bad Times" Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Château Teyssier:
2010 ChâteauLaforge Saint Emilion Grand Cru
2010 Vieux Château Mazerat Saint Emilion Grand Cru
2010 "Le Dôme" Saint Emilion Grand Cru

Author's Note: For those who aren't aware, for Winemaker's Tastings at The Bin, part of your tasting fee is refunded to you in the form of a credit for wines tasted that evening.  Yet another no-brainer reason to go!

The evening began with Maltus telling us his background and how he got into the wine industry.  A Nigerian educated in the United Kingdom (and self-referred to as British), Maltus started in the oil and gas industry before taking his leave and ending up in the wine business, first in Cahors and then Bordeaux.  He also dabbled in the Barossa Valley for awhile before planting some roots (no pun intended) in the Napa Valley.  Maltus was part of the pioneering "garagiste" movement in the late 1990's and early 2000's when the rise of The Wine Advocate and it's considerable affect on winemaking and wine pricing in Bordeaux began taking affect.  To Maltus' credit, this has led a wine he once sold for $15 to earn "100 points" from Mr. Parker and catapult to a $210 price tag.

Second Author's Note: My disdain for points systems and someone with a not-quite-objective palate having a massive affect on how wines are made, priced, and purchased is no secret, but even I must admit that having anyone who does this sort of thing for a living believe your wine is completely flawless is a feat or herculean proportions.  Well done, Messrs. Maltus, Whyte, and Beziat!

The night progressed into the tasting, beginning in Napa Valley with the World's End wines.  Starting with the 2008 vintage, World's End was Maltus and Co.'s attempt at emulating the Château Teyssier wines using Napa fruit.

Our first taste, of the "If Six Was Nine" from 2010, was a perfect palate-setter and a sign of things to come. While the wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, it is a blend of three vineyards that combines fruit from the valley floor, the slopes, and the mountains.  It's a wonderful expression of Napa Valley quality at a price point (a bit north of $50) that isn't too far out of the realm of possibility.  If you're looking for an approachable way to get into quality Napa Cabs, this just might be it.  A word of warning, however - "If Six Was Nine" could absolutely be a gateway drug into the dark and dangerous world of three figure price tag wines!

Moving on, we came to the 2009 "Wavelength."  Truly, this wine was on a different wavelength (pun intended that time!) as it sees Syrah (my all time favorite grape!) blended with Cabernet Franc (one of my all time least favorite grapes), all coming from a single vineyard, the Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard.  It's exceptionally unique, and would come highly recommended from me if you're looking for something non-traditional.  I challenge you to find something similar!

The final World's End taste was by far the highlight of the show.  The "Good Times, Bad Times" offering is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced solely from Andy Beckstoffer's To Kalon Vineyard.  Not that Maltus had other plans, but uniquely enough Andy Beckstoffer prohibits those winemakers who buy grapes from him to do any sort of blending with his fruit.  Thankfully for consumers, this allows each and every expression of To Kalon fruit to be pure and unadulterated, showcasing the product of the gravelly, loamy soil.  This leads me to two points: 1) Jump on any To Kalon Vineyard offering you find.  Andy Beckstoffer won't sell to just anyone, so you're pretty much guaranteed to be drinking someone's labor of love and not just a massive conglomerate's offering of a bottle of plonk with a prestigious vineyard name on the label, and 2) This wine is so damn good that it allowed me to break through my own personal psychological barrier of no single bottle of wine being worth more than $125.  "Good Times, Bad Times" retails for $135.

At that point we moved on to the Château Teyssier offerings, named after the 18th century château in Saint Emilion the Maltus family calls home.  We were started off with the 2010 Château LaForge, which is actually it's own château that was purchased from the daughter of the local blacksmith (get it? LaForge?) back in the 1990's, with the original vineyard being pieced together from various parcels that were "seized" as payment of unpaid blacksmithing bills.  You see, it was well within the rights of business owners to take bits and bobs of land as legal tender when bills could not be paid.  That, my darlings, is how the original vineyards of Château LaForge came to be.  Priced a bit high for my tastes (nearly $70), this wine nevertheless is a wonderful expression of right bank fruit from four different Grand Cru vineyards in Saint Emilion.  It's a bit tight on the palate, but with some decanting will surely soften up.

The next Teyssier offering was the 2010 Vieux Château Mazerat.  Also it's own château, VCM (as it goes by) is actually the Château that the vineyard contributing fruit to Le Dôme goes with.  This stellar blend of Merlot and Cab Franc is quite tight and probably won't be at optimum drinking conditions for at least another five years. My favorite of the Teyssier options we tasted, VCM is also a favorite of Maltus - Jon mentioned it would be his desert island wine if he were forced to choose just one of his own.  If you're looking to buy Bordeaux to lay down, and don't mind drinking "FUC*ING MERLOT", give it a shot.  It isn't cheap at $131 retail, but if you have the disposable income is certainly worth the investment.

The final wine of the evening was the pièce de résistance, 2010 Le Dôme.  The 100 point king, this is the world's most expensive wine made predominantly of Cabernet Franc (75%).  After tasting many, many Cab Francs that have been immensely disappointing, I was looking forward to one that may have changed my opinion and help build its campaign of being a grape that is capable of standing a bit more on its own.  I do have to admit, this was a fantastic wine, the best Cab Franc I've ever had.  But was it perfect and priced appropriately at $210?  I just don't think so. Le Dôme is an incredibly structured wine that lasts forever on the palate, draping your tongue in velvet, and really is ready to drink now (though I think it will get better!).  But I personally believe there are better wines out there for a much lower price point (see: "Good Times, Bad Times").

Third Author's Note: Check out the labels of the VCM and Le Dôme.  Reflecting upon the fact that the two wines are exact opposites in terms of percentage of Merlot vs. Cabernet Franc, the labels are exact opposites as well.

Any way you look at it, you won't go wrong with Château Teyssier or World's End wines.  Both portfolios are more expansive than we had the opportunity to taste, and I would happily buy anything we did not taste "blind."  Mr. Maltus, if this post ever crosses your desk, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the best tasting I've been a part of at Bin 604.  Well done, good sir.