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The Bernard Roth Archives

The Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium presents notes of Bernard Roth who always has something to say, particularly about wine and food.

We are happy that Bernard, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Bernard writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Bernard writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Bernard's notes from April 29, 2001:

Dinner at Valentino

My wife and I enjoyed a fine meal recently at Valentino in LA. Some of her family was visiting from out east. Her cousin, who had been a well-known leading chef in LA, has been a friend of Piero Salvaggio (Valentino’s owner) for some 20 years. So we were shown to a primo table at the center of the dining room. Service was mostly very attentive, though twice my water glass was refilled with the wrong (still) water. Paul, the maitre ‘d, assured that our meal proceeded at a leisurely pace.

We began with prosecco (producer unknown), a large platter of yummy crisps of pure Reggiano, and shared a few appetizers around the table. A mushroom flan had phenomenal flavor and light texture. A baby green salad with roasted porcini was satisfactory—greens very fresh and lightly dressed, the porcini though had rather plain flavor. 

Next came the pastas. Gnochetti with gorgonzola cheese sauce were feather light puffs of the potato dough dumplings with an impeccable cream sauce. Risotto verde was equally sublime, speckled with favas, a celebration of spring’s green flavors. With these dishes we enjoyed
 
90 Altare Vigna Larigi—This is one fine bottle of barbera. To bring the wine up from cellar temperature and to enhance its aromatics, the wine was decanted. A wonderful bouquet of mellow black fruits and subtle oak nuances greeted me from the tasting pour, always a good sign. In the mouth, the wine starts out soft, smooth and creamy, with pure barbera flavors and enough balancing acidity. In the mid-palate, the residual tannic structure begins to show itself, providing suitable counterpoint to the fruit to stand up to the main courses, too. Throughout, the lightly toasted oak plays a supporting role, keeping properly in place. This wine was so good that midway through the main course we ordered another bottle. Parker’s original 92 rating is spot on. At $90 a bottle, this is one of the few wines I spotted on the Italian part of the (monumental) wine list that came nearly within the realm of reasonableness. (By comparison to a 90 Solus Ad Barbera I had late last year, the Larigi showed more elegance and finesse on the palate. The Solus Ad, should you have it or find it, is still an outstanding wine worth about 90 points.) 

The various main course included a tasty roast quail, fresh imported spigola filet (an Adriatic seabass) served skin-on, and sautéed sweetbreads. Of these, the spigola was wonderful and reminded me of the superb fish I enjoyed during my stay in Trieste in 1982. I had ordered the sweetbreads out of loyalty to the idea that a restaurant these days is willing to put them on the menu (not just as a special, but on the actual menu). I have to say that it was the least satisfactory dish of the day, workmanlike, but pedestrian. I’ve had better sweetbreads at a number of less lofty restaurants.

We finished up with a half-bottle of Bracchetto (I forget the producer, but the name started with “M”), a refreshing end to the meal and a good accompaniment to the lighter desserts we ordered.

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