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I have important guests for dinner tonight, two Gentlemen and two Ladies. The light of dawn floods the room with its unique and unrepeatable shades, every time I promise myself to get up early every day to enjoy the magic, but then I never do. I will have to find the time to work on my long list of good intentions, maybe scratching some and fulfilling others. Sunrise, I am definitely not scratching it off, I’ll have to work on that! I got up early to soak the meat in red wine with herbs and spices; 10 hours according to the traditional recipe. Tonight is pot roast night, because important glasses will be filled and they demand the perfect pairing.

I am excited and happy! Anticipation, this feeling of serenity that pervades the day of the waiting and that envelops me like a warm and reassuring embrace from which no one would ever want to be freed. I am like a butterfly today, spreading her wings for the first time to soar in a graceful and beautiful flight, just for one day, just one and then everything will end. Because fate waits impatiently and grants nothing more than what it has chosen to.

Best friends, each with their own troubles and with a different strength to manage the more or less apparent chaos, each in search of a reassuring caress, a regenerating hug, an enlightened conversation. Even though I am the host, I will throw myself into the group of the needy! And this is why the men, who are necessarily the architects of our chaos, must be selected with spasmodic attention tonight. Only men from other times could perhaps perform such a delicate task with authority, eloquence and depth. I have thought it over long and hard, I have spent hours browsing through my memory bank in search of that reassuring presence, that profound personality, that illuminating eloquence, that sense of life a little too lost in these times often marked by excessive frenzy.

And in the end, I chose them: Brunello di Montalcino Bramante DOCG 2005 of Sanlorenzo and Barolo Pajana DOCG 2006 of Domenico Clerico, because for the three of us the evening is truly special and does require the point of view from both of them. Strong, coherent, determined men, they accepted with joy and enthusiasm the invitation of these three women in search of balance! Therefore, I uncorked them immediately, while the pot roast meat had just begun its inebriating bath among the effluvia of the wine.

I have made the right choice, that I knew right away from the cork! They both promise a different and unique experience from the very first sensations, the ones nobody ever really pays attention to except to intercept some flaws. Usually, when testing the cork, it is just enough that it does not smell bad to proceed to the tasting right away.  However, this cork is already able to reveal secrets and promises of what is to come, and when what you have is always too little you must be able to taste and enjoy every single moment, every little detail.

The table is set, the pot roast has been on the stove for a couple of hours now and my girlfriends are here too! Time to make the introductions then, while they light up at first glance! Women who love wine are different, authentic, intense, vibrant and full of passion! They always shine, even in the darkest moments, they never forget where they came from, but they always look ahead, and above all they know how to live with intensity the here and now. When they are with you they are fully present, without distractions or interferences and they stay focused and listen with genuine interest to your story.

Domenico Clerico, I’ve never visited the Winery yet, so I must rely on their own words.

“The vine unites heaven to earth”

you would not need to read more to understand! Love, dedication, a strong attachment to one’s land and work that is nourished by an intense and continuous exchange. The law is crystal clear: those who give love create love and receive love! I do not know them in person, not yet, but I do know Luciano Ciolfi and his Sanlorenzo suspended between heaven and earth in one of the highest spots of Montalcino. Every time he is not on his bike, he is in the vineyard, and he goes bike riding only on weekends. And I know that he thinks the exact same way, so it is a bit like we’re already friends with Domenico Clerico as well! The faces of Bramante and Domenico, shining over their beloved vineyards from another dimension as to protect them forever, merge and blend together. I imagine them with their hands stained by grapes, their boots full of clods of earth, their smiles tired but happy and full of pride, because

“the sun rises early that day, and sets late for the grape pickers, but in the end everyone, even the vines, will get their well-deserved, if short-lived, rest.”

The story could go on for hours, but time is our tyrant and the men at the table have been invited so they can warm our hearts with their enveloping embrace, and we do need cuddles! Different personalities but equally important! It is going to be a very interesting conversation!

It is Barolo that breaks the ice, lively and brilliant in the glass, it explodes in a richness and intensity of fragrances and scents that burst out the glass all at once, so overwhelming that it made our heads spin! The sip is of such extreme elegance, impossible to resist! It takes possession of every corner of the mouth with disarming charm, and before realizing what was happening, he had already won us over for good! The surrender to the power of his seduction is total and unconditional. We felt we could trust him, and we abandoned ourselves with joy to its dynamic sip, to its vibrant freshness, to the roundness of a soft but still very eloquent tannin. The perfect phrasing of his story makes the nature of his soul extremely clear, so pure and natural. He is truly the embodiment of the perfect man, strong and yet gentle, reassuring and eloquent but never overbearing. Choose him, and harmony and passion will never again be lacking in your life!

Brunello has a very different personality, and his seduction strategy is very different, almost poles apart. Just as hypnotic in the glass, bright and intense, he promises a lot on the nose but gives himself out slowly, with no haste, telling his story in a crescendo of sensations that immediately capture the attention and the heart. The story is so involving and stratified that it is not possible to move away from the pressing desire to know more. The impact of the sip is powerful, decisive! Impossible not to give him our whole heart right away and with lucid awareness. He won us over with overwhelming elegance, with a vertical sip that lashes the mouth and then relaxes with quiet magnificence. The tannin wraps the mouth with vibrant energy in a tender embrace. It is the embodiment of the perfect lover, handsome and cursed, an inveterate seducer who falls hopelessly in love for real in the end. Have the courage to let yourself be conquered and the audacity to try to seduce him, because if you manage to make him fall in love, you will live in a state of perpetual ecstasy and emotion.

And that is how three friends, a bit stressed out with life, have found balance, harmony and confidence in the future. And when you think that the time of cavalry is over think again and invite Bramante and Domenico to dinner, they will win you over with charm and elegance, and make your heart beat faster with their timeless and overwhelming personality, and the best part is that you won’t have to choose which one to love!