Best pairing for truffle pasta with parmigiana

I’m thinking of Bordeaux but I was gifted a 2010 Diamond Creek. Other options are Aeris Bricco rosso. Thoughts?

Any of those are good but I’d go with an old style aged Rioja. Maybe a Barbaresco but Rioja is great with any kind of mushroom.

Barbaresco or Barolo, with some age.

Burgundy , red (or white) is my initial reaction.

I would think an aged Barolo or Barbaresco would be lovely. Champagne with its crisp acidity and mushroom notes with be delicious.

Enjoy,
Scott

Old Nebbiolo for sure

NEBBIOLO!! Esp with age.

Black or white truffles?

Good question. Also, if black, summer or Périgord? I agree that it changes the pairing quite a bit.

With summer, your driver is going to be the Parm. So anything you would like with Parm and butter should work.

With black, you can find either white (Domaine Ott Clos Mireille blanc was a hit with a pairing I had or an older Burgundy Chard) or red (as others have mentioned older Neb, older Burgundy Pinot, etc.).

With white, I would stay clear of reds (highly debatable as the classic pairing is old Barolo or Barbaresco) and focus on whites. I’ve had success with the Colli di Lapio Fiano di Avellino, Vietti Roero Arneis and an old C9P blanc.

Champagne can work and the parm and butter should help. I would go with something more vinous and serious though.

Keep in mind that I don’t drink Riesling so I might be limiting your choices.

Also, Sarah, I’ve heard that Saké can work with truffle. I’d love to know your input.

Nice conundrum to have! Whatever you do go for, please let us know how it was.

Black truffles. Don’t own any Nebbiolo old or otherwise as I just got to France a few years ago and feel intimidated by Italy. Went with a 2017 Sansonnet Bordeaux. Powerful with a strong tannic bite that probably needs a few more years. An tense wine with no smooth edges. The truffles were underwhelming, one of those ingredients that doesn’t seem to match its reputation for flavor. Microplaned into scrabbled eggs this morning was much tastier but not value for money. This is just my take.

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White truffles are the prized ones. Expensive item with a high likelihood of not being worth it for the occasional indulgence. Seems like Burgundy where you need to be committed and know what you’re buying. I think the white truffle threads are about to make their seasonal appearance.

It’s a very early white truffle season, so some are available. All reports from my reliable sources say to wait as the quality of the early ones isn’t good yet. Im waiting. I’m coincidentally buying some black Burgundy truffles (Tuber Uncinatum) from Umbria next week for a charity wine dinner. That season is very early too.



Robert, were those black Périgord truffles (Tuber melanosporum), black Burgundy truffles (Tuber uncinatum), winter truffles (Tuber brumale) or summer truffles (Tuber aestivum)? Their taste and aroma vary in strength. If you had summer truffle, I understand your assessment. It is underwhelming. Périgord truffles are quite potent.

Warren, thanks for the head’s up! I’ll inquire with my regular retail source as I normally don’t see any before first week of October.

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Old Nebbiolo fer shurr. But especially from the higher altitudes… Ghemme, Gattinara, best of all Carema. Grumello, Sassella, Inferno could all be in the conversation.

Dan Kravitz

If these are Périgord truffles, I’d add that it’s most common to warm them slightly. They are used all over the south and southwest of France, so there are plenty of great wine choices. But it doesn’t seem like the right season for those so I suspect they may have been one of the other varieties.

Black truffles (melanosporum) can be excellent, and prized. It needs to be fresh - rule of thumb you lose 10% of the smell every day they’re out of the ground - and one of the ways to tell is the firmness of the truffle. It should be like squeezing a pebble. Some truffle folks told me the typical age of a truffle in the US is 6-7 days, which is not ideal. Small wonder most people have mediocre experiences

Then once you successfully negotiate the rigmarole around getting fresh ones, as others have said you need a little heat, and also fat and salt (don’t be afraid of the salt, in particular)

I always ask to smell the truffle I’m contemplating purchasing. Black summer truffle is what it sounds like you got. The scrambled egg route is good for those. I’ve also infused butter with them to good effect. Shaved raw onto pasta, they rarely have the oomph needed to make a memory. I used to splurge a hunk of white truffle every year around the holidays but sort of lost my passion for it as prices rose and my local market got more and more dicey on availability and quality/freshness. We now have Wegman’s and they have truffles in the cheese case so I may check it out but do have a lower flinch point with truffle than I do with fermented grape juice.

Cheers,
fred

If I’m cooking in the summer with truffles, I like to supplement with either a truffle butter, salt, or sauce in order to amp up the intensity.

It was a Burgundy truffle and after reading these posts, probably not the best choice.

ParmigianO