#377 Pulling pork and Amarone

On my recent trip to Italy, I visited Allegrini and was very kindly given a cook book that Allegrini had printed to celebrate the anniversary of their Amarone's production.  It highlights ten recipes designed by some of the world's top chefs that are supposed to go perfectly with their Amarone.  One of the dishes is a pulled pork sandwich, and when presented with a bowl of this, there was only one wine I wanted to try with it.  I tried two vintages, the 2001 and 2006 vintages, and tasted them first, before trying them with the pork.

On their own, the 2001 Allegrini Amarone, despite its decade age, is still quite closed on the nose.  It has some sour cherry, a bit of fresh blackberry coming through and then a bit of spice, but still so closed.  The palate is dry, bitter with lots of dark leathery spice coming through.  Then you get the dried fruit and a lot of liquorice, leather and some menthol elements.  It is quite an aggressive bottle, not drinking well at all.  80pts

It couldn't be a biggest contrast with the 2006 Allegrini Amarone.  Very bright fruit, an abundance of prunes and cherries mixed with a little bit of spiced berry compote.  Then you get the very rich, ripe dark raisins, a bit of mint and a herbal meaty element as well.  It smells delightful.  The palate is dark, with a mouth filling power and some really lovely leathery elements.  There is a black peppery spice, some chocolate and some mint with a raspy, gravelly flavour.  Really tasty and gutsy.  92pts

But then, when paired with the pulled pork, the two wines made a dramatic shift.  The 2006 vintage battled with the spicy, rich pork, competing to be the more powerful flavours. The pairing developed a tomatoey herbal flavour, almost like bolognese sauce, and the darker flavours of the wine became dominant and, if I'm honest, a bit unpleasant.  As a pairing, I'd score it 85pts at most. 

The 2001 however is perfect.  The lack of fruit on the wine is more than made up for by the sweetness and spicyness of the pork, the hotter flavours working with the dark, leathery elements and the menthol balancing out the spicy elements.  There isn't the battle with the food as there was with the younger wine.  It is a very good balance that is a delightful experience. 95pts

Just goes to show, you should never write an older wine off as in the right situation, they can be beautiful.