The Unexpected Encounter: When the 2020 Chardonnay Incalmà Marries Ancient Grain Carbonara
When thinking of a pairing for carbonara, the mind almost always turns to well-structured reds or ready-to-drink, fresh and vertical whites. Yet food and wine can hold unexpected epiphanies. This is what recently happened in the glass with the 2020 Incalmà by Azienda Agricola Ruaro — a pure Chardonnay that has benefited from an extended period of ageing in bottle — and a plate of artisan pasta from Tenuta San Luciano, produced by the Tuscan winery San Luciano Vini in Monte San Savino (Arezzo).
The result? A love match glossed by a surprising alchemy of textures and aromas.
The Chalice: Incalmà 2020 Chardonnay (Azienda Agricola Ruaro in Marano Vicentino)
Chardonnay is a chameleon-like grape variety, capable of interpreting territories in radically different ways. The 2020 vintage, marked by a hot summer and intense heat spikes, has imparted a singular twist to this wine.
The Evolution: Thanks to a prolonged period of bottle ageing, the wine has developed a mature and fascinating complexity.
The Flavour Profile: The initial impact offers generous hints of exotic fruit, born of the summer sun. Immediately afterwards, however, the picture becomes intriguing: tertiary notes of light hydrocarbon emerge strongly, with elegant touches of candied citron peel and a subtle, aristocratic nuance of dry almond on the finish.
The stylistic surpassing of the wine's youth translates into a deep, taut sip, and above all, one supported by a live and pulsating acid backbone.
The Dish: Carbonara with Artisan Pasta from San Luciano Vini
Acting as a counterpart to this fluid complexity is an excellence of Tuscan tradition: the pasta from Tenuta San Luciano, produced by the same winery in Monte San Savino (Arezzo). This is a line of artisanal pasta sold under the name “I Sapori di Nonna Gina”.
Raw Materials: It is produced entirely from whole durum wheat semolina of the ancient Senatore Cappelli variety. All pastas are made with Senatore Cappelli whole durum wheat semolina pasta, which radically transforms the tasting experience by offering a rustic, authentic profile rich in ripe cereal nuances.
The Processing: Bronze die extrusion and slow drying create a rough and porous surface. The result on the plate is a pasta that holds sauces magnificently, embracing the creaminess of the yolk, the savoury flavour of the pecorino and the crunchiness of the guanciale without releasing a single milligram of it.
The Pairing: Why It Works
Pairing a carbonara — a dish with a marked richness, mouth-coating texture and aromatic profile — with an aged and structured wine like the Incalmà 2020 might have seemed like a gamble. Yet, the magic happened for three fundamental reasons:
Sauce retention and structure: The porosity of the Monte San Savino pasta held the fats of the dish to perfection. The Ruaro Chardonnay, thanks to its evolution and the glyceric backbone acquired over the years, stood up to the substantial structure of the durum wheat pasta without looking out of place.
The Game of Contrasts and Analogies: The tertiary hydrocarbon notes and candied citron peel of the wine cut through the richness of the cured pork cheek and cheese, cleansing the palate with every sip. At the same time, the nuances of dry almond found a perfect assonance with the toasted and rustic component of the Senatore Cappelli wheat.
Aromatic Persistence: Carbonara is a dish that leaves a long and complex trail in the mouth. Many white wines would be overpowered by such opulence. The 2020 Incalmà, bolstered by a rich bouquet and an ever-present, alert acidity, held its ground aromatically metre by metre, equalling the persistence of the dish in a textbook balance.
A bold pairing that demonstrates how time, the artisanal quality of the land and the vision of the producers can transform a lunch into a memorable sensory experience.
CHEERS!
