The base of Cappellano's Chinato is Barolo from the famed Gabutti vineyard. From here, the family's ultra-secret recipe of herbs, barks and spices is added. (China is the Italian word for quinine bark, a bittering agent used in Chinato.) Everything is ground by hand in an ancient mortar. Cappellano's unique blend of spices is guarded so closely that they shop at many different pharmacies to make sure that no one can piece the ingredients together.
We ended the meal with a Piedmontese classic, the always exceptionally good NV Cappellano Barolo Chinato. From the house that invented it, this is a Chinato of real pedigree: long, suave, complex and rich, featuring lovely, lingering notes of quinine and dark berries and a very typical resiny nuance (typical of this estate’s version of Chinato, that is). It provided a wonderful and very Langhe way to bring our dinner to a close.
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