The oldest Parmigiano Reggiano in the world matured for 23 years until it was inaugurated this Monday afternoon at the Majestic Hotel in Barcelona as part of a magnificent tasting paired with exceptional wines, attended by almost 500 people, including chefs, sommeliers and specialists. of the cheese. When you open it, it turns out to be a brownish colored cheese, similar to amber; with an intense aroma of undergrowth and truffle, with notes of vanilla and licorice; Except that it is a very dry piece and contains tyrosine crystals. The experts of the DOP Parmigiano Reggiano, who traveled to the Catalan capital for the occasion, have described both the event and the Parmigiano discovered as “extraordinary”. This unique piece was also paired with a very special wine, a 153 year old Malvasia from Matilde Henriques.
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That afternoon everything was big at the majestic Hotel Majestic on Passeig de Gràcia. A crowd wanted to witness a unique combination of long-lasting cheeses and traditional wines organized by the Vila Viniteca store and the Ardai distributor, owner of the amazing Parmigiano Reggiano, aged for 23 years, a time that even the representatives of the Unknown to the house were DOP. Before opening, the members of the cheese consortium Parmigiano Reggiani, Igino Morini and Silvia Pini, and the experienced battitore (cutter) Sante Spagiari had doubts about the result, although the uniform sound of hitting the wheel with a small hammer I have already pointed out that it is a piece in good condition.
In a crescendo of flavors, five wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano were tasted: the first three of 18, 24 and 54 months of aging from the Montecoppe producer and the last two of 12 and 23 years from Luigi Guffanti. However, the greatest expectations were for the latter, which Ardai acquired at an auction in November 2021 at the World Cheese Awards in Oviedo for a price that they did not want to reveal. The cheese was produced in April 2000 by the Latteria di Tabiano dairy in the province of Parma. Erio Bertani, manager of the cheese factory, bought it and kept it in the warehouse of his shop, with the desire to check the effect of a very long aging. After his death in 2018, his wife and children auctioned it off and donated the money in his memory.
So it acquired Ardai, which it will keep for two years and not sell. The longer it ages, the more complex Parmigiano cheese becomes, even though it is made from only three ingredients: milk, salt and rennet. This wheel, which before opening had a very dry appearance compared to the others, was aged for 276 months, an unprecedented time since the maximum time for usual consumption does not exceed 10 or 11 years, and the most common is cheese with with a maturation period of 12 to 24 months. It was neither opened nor checked for its internal condition.
Sante Spagiari and Igino Morini show off the newly opened 23-year-old Parmigiano Reggiani.Vila Viniteca
The expert Sante Spagiari, one of the 22 professionals who examine the DOP cheeses and the oldest cheese he has tasted so far was 15 years old, was in charge of opening it by cutting horizontally (the most appropriate method) . ). And joy took over the nervous faces of the DOP representatives as they checked the good condition. During this time, the cheese has taken on a brownish color, similar to that of desert roses, and the texture has become grainy, causing many tyrosine crystals to form. Over time it has lost almost all of its water, leaving it dry and crumbly in the mouth. According to Igino Morini, the smell has lost intensity, but smells of undergrowth and truffles, while “there is a delicate return to vanilla”. During the tasting, Silvia Pini added that she also felt licorice notes. “Explosion of flavor, astringency, spiciness and acidity” were further criteria used by the two experts.
Another peculiarity of the cheese tasted, in addition to its age, is that it was one of the first to receive the prestigious “Mountain Quality” status from the Conva Consortium, which means that it is made exclusively from mountain milk from the Apennines and has been aged at least 24 Matured for months. This last requirement was far exceeded. In fact, Silvia Pini has noted that an edible cheese that achieves such a good result after so many years of aging is due to the quality of the product, especially the milk, and the perfect manufacturing process. One participant also mentioned that it tasted like blue cheese, to which Enric Canut, an agricultural engineer and cheese specialist, added that it was probably rancid notes caused by the oxidation of the small fat in the Parmigiano.
With years of aging, Parmiggiano Regiano becomes darker, more tyrosine crystals form and it takes on more complex flavors, as this tasting shows, where increasingly older pieces were opened. The combination was also proportional to the exclusivity of the event, with a special selection of five wines chosen specifically for the occasion: Ca N’Estruc Idoia Blanc 2014, Llopart Ex · Vite Gran Reserva Edició Personal 2004, Sake IWA Assemblage 3, Lustau Amontillado VORS and Matilde Henriques Malvasia 1870.
All cheeses were tasted at the Parmigiano Reggiani tasting.Vila Viniteca
Production techniques from 1,000 years ago
Parmigiano Regiano is one of the oldest and most valuable cheeses in the world, still made with the same craftsmanship and production techniques used almost 1,000 years ago. As a Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) product, it is subject to strict specifications registered in the European Union. Firstly, it is these requirements that have its origins, since it can only be produced in a small area of northern Italy, which includes the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and parts of Mantua and Bologna. This type of cheese is made from three ingredients: milk, salt and rennet. It is important that it does not contain additives or preservatives and does not contain lactose. Although its minimum maturation period is 12 months, it usually develops all its properties after 24 months.
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