Glamour on College Street
DaNico, Northern Burgundy, a Roussillon White and a Sicilian Red
Glamour is back and it’s in an old bank across the street from Sneeky Dee’s. I was let out of my cave this week for a Brunello dinner at Da Nico, and it reminded me of what I have been missing for a some time: a fancy pants room, with fancy pants people, and a bit of theatre. It was fun.
Da Nico is portmanteau of the names of the Liberty Entertainment Group chief Nick Di Donato and resident chef Daniele Corona. As usual, I am late to the party. DaNico was opened last year, and could be seen as an extension of Liberty’s Michelin Starred jewel in the crown Don Alfonso, where Corona cooked previously. The food is fancy Italian, the service on point and the room, designed by Nadia Di Donato is chic. Necks crane to look around. A few weeks ago DaNico won a Tre Forchette (three forks) award from Italian wine and food magazine Gambero Rosso.
The wine was from Villa Poggio Salvi and showed very well through five courses, as Brunello almost always does, from a fresh 2022 Rosso di Montalcino, through the 2019 Brunello (a good year that’s drinking very well now, I think), a 2017 Riserva and 2018 single vineyard. Good wine, good times. The food was exquisite: theatrical without being gimmicky, faithful to the ingredients and ultimately satiating. We were fed and watered well.
In April, the Cashmere toiletpaper brand betowed DaNico with its “Best of the Best Ultraluxe Bathroom Guide.” So, there’s that too. I managed a visit early in the evening, and even took a selfie. If you want to check it out, I recommend you take the first opportunity. My poor dining companion tried to get into the single occupance WC on the main floor twice during the evening, but was relegated to the overflow facilities downstairs, as it was in use. She reported the alternate facilities were top notch, in any event.
Fun is happening again south of Bloor. Glamour is back. Time to get dressed for dinner.
NEW WRITING AT THE HUB
Don’t be surprised if you see the words Irancy or Vézelay on wine lists going forward: if there are any bargains left in Burgundy, then they are probably to be found in the Northwest of Bourgogne and the Côtes d’Auxerre:
https://thehub.ca/2024-05-24/malcolm-jolley-new-wino-hope-in-northern-bourgogne/
WINE RECOMMENDATIONS
Please enjoy these recommendations. They are free for all subscribers for now. Soon these just in time wine recommendations for LCBO Vintages releases, Ontario wine releases and wines on direct offer from importing agents will be reserved for paid subscribers to Malcolm Jolley Wino Journalist. That and more. Get ahead of the curve today and support my work by being a paid subscriber.
Saint-Roch Corbarol 2022
Price: $17.95
Channel: LCBO Vintages
Producer: Domaine LaFage
Country: France
Region: Roussillon
Appellation: Côtes du Roussillon
Grapes: Grenache Blanc (80%), Roussanne (20%)
Alcohol by Volume: 13%
Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre
There are two competing white wine in warm weather strategies. The first is to go cool climate: the acidity that comes from cooler temperatures and shorter growing season in places like Niagara, Oregon or the Loire Valley in France, will refresh the palate, bring water to the mouth and beat the heat. The second is to go warm climate: rounder, fruitier and weightier white wines, that retain bred into the bone acidity, but are softer and altogether more gentle going down.
There’s no right answer. Vive la différence. The Sain-Roch Corbarol from the very southern tip of Mediterranean France is an excellent way to practice the second option, and begin an evening as an aperitif, or run through it with a seafood dinner. Look for lemon lime citrus and a mellow honeyed tone.
Firriato Chiaramonte Nero d’Avola 2020
Price: $18.95
Channel: LCBO Vintages
Producer: Firriato
Country: Italy
Region: Sicily (Trapani)
Appellation: DOC Sicilia
Grapes: Nero d’Avola
Alcohol by Volume: 14%
Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre
Mediterranean is an adjective I swing around generously on wine, not least on the ones from Italy. The republic is, peninsular and insular, surrounded by the sea of that name and the Italians (and their co-conspirators) have decided to name even more seas within the big one: Tyrrhenean, Ionian, and Adriatic.
In any event, the sea off the coast of the salt fields of Trapani, is just ‘Mediterranean’ stretching west to Pantellaria and Tunisia. And this four year old red wine, grown in rolling fields inland from there, comes from one of the island’s larger producers.
The 2020 Chiaramonte has a classic Italian Mediterrannean character of dark cherry, food friendly acidic lift and a scrubby, almost bitter herbal finish. Finally, a note of cedar from judicious and subtle oak treatment that lends structure and seasons the fruit. Steak, pasta, pizza: it’s a Friday night wine at a Tuesday evening price.
https://www.lcbo.com/en/firriato-chiaramonte-nero-d-avola-2015-121145
