Restaurant: Drago Centro [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Location: 525 S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90071. (213) 228-8998
Date: October 29, 2019
Cuisine: Italian
Rating: Great high end Italian
Back to Drago Centro for “another” Brunnello dinner, featuring the wines of La Fiorita. Liz Lee of Sage Society kinda co-hosted, but this wasn’t a full on Sage dinner (hey, only 4 courses — Liz would have had 10!). But any trip to Drago is good anyway, as Celestino and I have been friends for 20 years!
Located on busy Flower in DTLA.
La Fiorita is a new and up and coming Brunello producer — more on it in a sec.
But first a bunch of us including Erick and Liz snacked on the patio with:
Arrancini “rice balls”.
Fried zucchini. About the only good zucchini is a fried zucchini!
Crab toasts.
Then we moved inside to this large central table.
A bit about the winemaker.
On the left is Natalie Oliveros, owner of La Fiorita. She’s a NY native with a love of wine and all things Italian. In the back is Chef Celestino Drago.
Photos are a bit rough tonight as I was evacuated from my home because of the California wildfires and had to use the cel phone camera!
2015 La Fiorita Brunello di Montalcino.
2014 La Fiorita Brunello di Montalcino. VM 89. Medium red. Clean, fresh aromas of cranberry cocktail and spicy herbs. Then spicy in the mouth too, with savory herbs and red cherry flavors offering good intensity. Starts very savory and broad, then nicely integrated acidity gives the wine a more buoyant and linear mouthfeel while providing good grip. Finishes long and clean. A much less fleshy, tactile and musky Brunello from La Fiorita than the wines typically made here over the past decade, and I have to say I like this style better. (Drink between 2020-2027)
agavin: drinking great right now
Tonight’s menu — short by my standards.
Australian A5 wagyu steak tartare, shallots, chives, parmesan cream, truffle tuile. Nice dish, but if it’s Australian, it’s not “really” A5 — at least not the way the Japanese do it. No way are the Aussies — as wonderful as they are — going to massage the cows like the obsessive Japanese.
2011 La Fiorita Brunello di Montalcino. 90 points. A bit more sour.
2008 La Fiorita Brunello di Montalcino. VM 88. Bright red-ruby. Subdued but precise aromas of strawberry, cassis and licorice. Nicely layered and rich, displaying an enticing sweetness to its red berry and red cherry flavors. Finishes a bit simple and only moderately persistent, but with fine-grained, pliant tannins and a strong note of violet. This attractive Brunello is ideal for early drinking.
Fresh fettucuni, shaved black truffle. Very nice simple pasta emphasizing the truffles.
2012 La Fiorita Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. VM 88. Good bright ruby-red. Aromas of blackberry and violet, plus a whiff of smoked meat. Big, deep and rich on entry, with black pepper and spice notes complicating savory dark berry and licorice flavors, but turns mountingly astringent in the middle and on the long, mouth-puckering finish. This broad, structured but ultimately only moderately complex wine could use a touch more grace and charm. (Drink between 2024-2029)
Braised ossobuco, broccolini, cipollini, creamy poleanta, salsa verde. Modern form factor on the ossobuco, and I actually prefer the classic messier one — particularly with a great risotto! Still this was good and one could scoop out the marrow!
NV Vigna Dorata Franciacorta Brut Saten. Nice inexpensive bubbly.
Chef’s selection of assorted cheeses.
The wine lineup.
Overall another fine evening at Drago Centro. The wines were great, Natalie Oliveros a lot of fun, and the food and company fabulous as well.
Still, as it was only 3 savory courses (plus our warm up) it was off to Korea Town for second dinner for us — Korean Army Stew!
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