Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

Last week we looked at an artisanal vinegar designed for drinking. This week we will turn our attention to the rarefied world of balsamico tradizionale, that’s the slow-aged variety of balsamic vinegar, not the kind that you may run across at your local supermarket.

If there were a musical composition best suited to accompany the aging of balsamico tradizionale (BT), it would undoubtedly be John Cage’s ORGAN²/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible), the performance of which kicked off in 2001 and is scheduled to end in 2640, a year by which all of our beloved readers will have kicked off in quite a different sense.

Modena is a city in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region and is renowned for its BT, as well as its cars (think Ferrari). The aging process, done in barrels called “batteria” (see photograph above), imparts wine-like qualities to BT. If you look closely at the photograph below, you will see “D.O.P,” a number on the seal, and the word “Extravecchio,” which indicates that the product has undergone a minimum of 25 years of aging in wood. There are a number of grapes used in the production of BT, but Trebbiano is the main variety here.

The BT that we tasted was produced by Acetaia Ampergola Villa Emma, whose present-day driving force is Mirella Leonardi Giacobazzi.

We drizzled this vinegar onto…. No, let me rephrase that! We anointed some parmesan cheese with this sacred unction and paired it with a Sangiovese from a Sammarinese winery about which we have previously written. Our sensory notes follow.

BT & Sangiovese

BT Solo: Dark, fruity, and viscous. There are tertiary notes of coffee and chocolate on the nose!

Wine Solo: Vigna di Takamiy Sangiovese 2023: Ruby colored. Pronounced cherry on the nose. Palate: medium (-) acidity, soft tannins, some cherry notes. Finish: medium (+). 13.5% ABV.

Tandem: 1) Cheese & BT: the sharpness of the cheese and the opulent sweetness of the BT are the perfect combination. 2) Wine & BT: the dryness of the wine is perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the BT.