Il Cascinale Nuovo

Strada Statale 231. No .15

14057 Isola d'Asti (AT) Italy

Tel. +39 0141 958166

 BY ANTONIO GALLONI | AUGUST 23, 2018

Food:

Piedmontese-bred veal; tuna sauce

Pasta Fagioli….sea

Roasted Tomato Pizza 

Prosciutto Crudo and Mozzarella Pizza

Crunchy pig; Golden Delicious apple, star anise, soy sauce

Cherries in Ice Water

Wines:

2001 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto	99
2010 Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio Barolo Monprivato	90+?
2010 Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio Barolo Riserva Ca’ d’ Morissio	97
1970 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino	96
1970 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Vigna Rionda	94

“What would you like to drink at dinner?” Il Professore asks. I dutifully answer. “@#?$@!,” is the reply. “Well….you asked,” I add. And so, with that as a prelude, Il Professore and I meet up with one of our closest mutual friends for a boys’ night out.

In all of the years I have been visiting Piedmont I have never dined at Il Cascinale Nuovo, a local institution that celebrates its fiftieth birthday in 2018. What an oversight. I won’t let that happen again.

Piedmontese-bred veal; tuna sauce

Il Cascinale Nuovo is located just off the main Asti-Alba state road. The complex houses a hotel and the restaurant, which has both an outdoor terrace ideal for the warm months and cozy interior dining room that is used during the rest of the year. Walter Ferretto’s cooking blends tradition with innovation in a deeply personal style that is truly distinctive. Brother Robert Ferretto runs the dining room with that casual flair that is so quintessentially Italian.

All of my courses are terrific. There is just something about this food and these wines that is so perfect. The Piedmontese-bred veal with tuna sauce is a summery rendition of vitello tonnato, a local classic. It is delicious. The whimsical Pasta Fagioli with flavors of the sea is a nice change of pace. As much as I love the traditional Piedmont pastas – and I do love them – something a little different is quite welcome. Ferretto cooks the pasta just as I like it, which is very al dente.

Pasta Fagioli….sea

Out of the corner of my eye I see a few tantalizing pizzas headed out of the kitchen. The pizzas are technically served only in the informal bistro next door, but we ask if we can have a few. And so a few minutes later, the first pizza arrives. The flavors of summer are incredibly intense in pizza that combines oven-roasted tomatoes over the traditional tomato sauce. A second version, topped with mozzarella and prosciutto, is even better. Il Cascinale Nuovo’s pizzas are really more like pan-baked focaccias, but they are sublime.

Roasted Tomato Pizza

I can’t imagine interrupting a formal dinner like this one for an off-the cuff addition or two, certainly not in France or the US. And therein lies one of the most beautiful aspects of Italian culture: joyous spontaneity. The roasted pig course main course is very good, but not quite as satisfying as the other dishes. Dinner ends with a simple bowl of succulent fresh cherries served in ice-cold water. Simplicity at its best. What could possibly be better? Nothing.

Prosciutto Crudo and Mozzarella Pizza

As for the wines, they are positively stellar.  It’s hard to imagine a dinner that starts with Bruno Giacosa’s 2001 Barolo Riserva Le Rocche del Falletto, but that is the way it is on this night. Tasting and drinking the 2001 is bittersweet, as today’s wines are nothing like those Bruno Giacosa made during the estate’s heyday. A deep, resonant wine, the 2001 marries intense structure with the inner sweetness and perfume that are such signatures of Giacosa’s uniquely personal style. Time only does wonders for the 2001 as it continues to dazzle over several hours at the dinner table. Wow!

A pair of 2010 Barolos from Giuseppe Mascarello & Figlio is deeply intriguing. Mascarello’s 2010 Barolo Monprivato is one of the most mystifying wines I have ever encountered, from any region. At times the 2010 is very, very pretty, to the degree I fear I may have initially misjudged its potential, and then in other moments the wine literally disappears in the glass. These ebbs and flows continue over several hours without any real resolution. Ultimately, the 2010 is disjointed and perplexing. There are no such issues with the 2010 Barolo Riserva Ca’ d’ Morissio, which is positively stunning from the moment it is first opened. Towering and massively endowed, the 2010 possesses tremendous depth, vibrancy and pure energy. A rush of balsamic inflections grows into the huge, towering finish. It is another wine that just blossoms over several hours. This is such a satisfying and pleasing Barolo.

Nineteen seventy has long lived in the shadows of 1971, but Piedmont fans know what a great year it is. The 1970 Barolo Riserva Monfortino is one of the wines of the vintage, and also one of my favorite Monfortinos, period. Explosive and savory, with fabulous depth for a wine of its age, the 1970 is mesmerizingly beautiful. Readers lucky enough to own it can look forward to another twenty years of fine drinking. The only thing better than a bottle of the 1970 Monfortino is a magnum! A much more sensual expression of the year emerges from Bruno Giacosa’s 1970 Barolo Vigna Rionda. Silky tannins and lifted, floral aromatics give the 1970 its total sense of allure. The 1970 Rionda is peaking, and while it may hold for a few more years, it is not likely to get much more enjoyable than it is today.

There are very few wines in the world that have the capacity to develop over many hours at the dinner table. Barolo, Barbaresco and other Nebbiolo-based wines are among them. Each of these bottles had a story to tell, and we were eager to listen. Walter Ferretto’s superb cuisine and the relaxing outdoor terrace at Il Cascinale Nuovo provided a perfect setting for this fabulous dinner with two dear friends. 

Cherries in Ice Water