Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Wine & Food of the Giro 2015 Stage 11: Castelluccio Le More & Lasagna Bolognese

Forlì - Imola (Autodromo Ferrari)147 KM - Medium Mountain

Imola is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno River. The town is considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna. 
The Autodromo is an auto racing track. I'd say more, but to be honest, I know nothing about auto racing. Commentators at Podium Cafe recommend a documentary on Ayrton Senna to learn more about the sport and one of its greatest racers, who was killed in a crash at Imola. Google does tell me that the track hosted Grand Prix events until 2006,and now features regular car and bike events. The finishing straight of today's stage is on the motor circuit.


The stage: It wouldn't be a Giro without polemica! As mentioned at the end of yesterday's post, Richie Porte and Simon Clarke both ended up penalized two minutes for the wheel change yesterday. That may be the end of Porte's hopes for a Giro win. Lots more here and here and here and here. 
Back out on the road, it is raining. The break of the day contained Carlos Betancur, Matteo Montaguti, Franco Pellizotti, Diego Rosa, Marek Rutkiewicz, Beñat Intxausti, Ruben Fernandez, Ryder Hesjedal, Ilnur Zakarin and, once again, Steven Kruijswijk. With about eighty kilometers to go, they had about 3:30 over the main peloton.
Seventy kilometers to go and there was a split in the peloton. Sixty kilometers to go and the gap was down to just over two minutes. The main peloton was down to fifty riders. BMC was spending a lot of time on the front of the peloton. Apparently Gilbert has targeted today's stage. Forty five kilometers and the gap was already under one minute. Attacks from within the break pushed that gap back out over a minute and reduced the group leaving Rosa, Kruijswijk, Intxausti, Zakarin, Betancur, Hesjedal and Pellizotti ahead. With twenty five kilometers to go, their gap was 1:30.
Fifteen kilometers to go and Uran crashed. He was quickly up and chasing, flying by his teammates who had slowed to help. He would make it back.
 

 Up front, Zakarin was solo in the lead. With ten kilometers to go, he had 1:30 over the main group and nearly a minute over the break. 


 I couldn't resist. 
6.5 kilometers to go and Contador attacked. He would be caught, but that woke up the peloton. Ahead, Zakarin would hold on. 

 Stage: Ilnur Zakarin 


GC: 
1 Alberto CONTADOR VELASCO Spain TCS 33 46:54:19
2 Fabio ARU Italy AST 25 +3
3 Mikel LANDA MEANA Spain AST 26 +46
4 Dario CATALDO Italy AST 30 +1:16
5 Roman KREUZIGER Czech Republic TCS 29 +1:46
6 Rigoberto URAN URAN Colombia EQS 28 +2:10
7 Giovanni VISCONTI Italy MOV 32 +2:12
8 Damiano CARUSO Italy BMC 28 +2:20
9 Andrey AMADOR BAKKAZAKOVA Costa Rica MOV 29 +2:24
10 Leopold KONIG Czech Republic SKY 28 +2:30


Wine: Castelluccio Sangiovese di Romagna Le More
Sample from Winebow 
SRP $15.00

 From the importer: Owned by the renowned oenologist Vittorio Fiore, Castelluccio was originally founded in the 1970s. In the 1980s Vittorio Fiore became the consulting winemaker and in 1999 he purchased the majority of shares in the property.

Castelluccio is nestled in the Modigliana Hills, between the two towns of Faenza and Forlì, at an altitude range of 750 - 1500 feet above sea level. The territory is known as Emilia Romagna and was part of Tuscany until the 1930s. Castelluccio extends approximately 150 acres, with 36 acres of vineyards and 6 acres with olive trees. The soil is compact layered marl and limestone, the location is composed of micro-areas called “ronchi”, referring to the rock formations that protrude from the mountain side, and render a very high quality of grapes. Sangiovese di Romagna, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc are the main grape varieties grown at Castelluccio. Sangiovese di Romagna is indigenous and expresses perfectly the character of the terroir and is a central grape to some of the world’s greatest wines.

The heart of Castelluccio’s philosophy is to respect and interpret the characteristics of “Romagna.” An ideal location near both the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine Mountains, it is recognized as a micro-zone for Sangiovese di Romagna as well as being the only DOC named after the ubiquitous grape. The notable uniqueness in terroir contributes greatly to the expression of the varietal. The elite members of the Castelluccio Estate team make every effort to produce wines that reflect its uniqueness. The outcome is wine that compares flawlessly to the Sangiovese grapes being grown in areas of Tuscany just on the other side of the Apennines Mountain.
"Le More" refers to the blackberry character of this deep and lively Sangiovese di Romagna. The grapes are harvested from the end of September to mid-October, then fermented and aged in stainless steel in order to retain the fresh and fruity character of the wine.

 I say: Prettiest label of the Giro for a pretty wine. Easy to drink. Berries and acid, with hints of earth. One of those bottles that empties quickly.
Food: Lasagna Bolognese
A friend wanted lasagne, so lasagna I did make.  
In this case, in a style of Emilia-Romagna. What that means is instead of mozzarella or ricotta or tomato sauce, the layers consisted of noodles, Bolognese sauce, a bechamel and grated parmesan. 

 This recipe from Giuliano Hazan was my guide. The top ends up brown and slightly crispy, which may be a surprise to those used to a cheesier or more tomato heavy version.
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