On the rolling hills of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, so far from the "wear and tear of modern life" as a glorious advertisement for Carosello del Cynar with Ernesto Calindri recited many decades ago, there is a sort of earthly paradise for a privileged group of 300 cows of Frisona breed and is in Pavullo nel Frignano in the province of Modena. We are in the heart of an extensive area included in a 15.000-hectare park, a naturalistically rich and extremely varied environment. where unique habitats, realms of biodiversity, favor the growth and conservation of rare plant and animal species and where “glacial cirques coexist with others transformed into peat bogs, beech woods with large expanses of undergrowth, snow valleys settle on the slopes of highest mountains, over which the golden eagle and other birds of prey soar”.
In this Paradise Giovanni Minelli rules with his company 300 heads of Italian Frisona, the classic white-black spotted cheese, which ensure the milk to produce an exceptional Parmigiano Reggiano, so exceptional that its product can be matured, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, months – and so far we would be in the normality of a quality Parmesan – but Minelli goes further, up to 120 months, and here we are in the miracle
A miracle that, however, knows little of the divine, in this case, and a lot of human. Because his Friesians live a happy and relaxed life on his farm not crammed in twos, separated by a partition, not looking at the wall, but live together, with the mangers in the center while along the perimeter walls, there there is sufficient space for the employees to come and milk them, and they are "spoiled" with the best possible forage, produced entirely from the fields of Giovanni's company (and this is felt in the milk). Likewise, the processing of the milk follows rigorous procedures and requires an out-of-the-ordinary commitment
The result is that Parmigiano Reggiano Malandrone 1477 ended up on Eataly counters, where all types of seasonings are present and it is requested by starred Chefs such as Cristina Bowerman of Glass Hostaria, “who uses about four kilos of Parmesan sixty months each week”, or how Anna Féolde of the Pinchiorri Enoteca.
The feeding of the animals remains essential for transmitting delicate flavors to the product: “All the aromas that are perceived in the cheese – says Giovanni Minelli with unconcealed pride – are those of the Modena hills. The hints and aromas of the forage are transferred to the milk, as well as to the curd. Our Parmesan is defined cru because every element that makes it up comes from the neighboring mountain areas, a territory particularly suitable for grazing cows”.
Let's talk immediately about the 1477-month-old Malandrone 120 that Gambero Rosso has renamed the house's Fuoriserie – obviously Minelli keeps a limited number for true connoisseurs who want to venture on a sensory journey at the highest level. It is a cheese that releases aromas that caress the palate with hints of spices, cocoa, nutmeg, with a complex but legible balance of flavours, to be pondered like a 57 Chateaux Mouton, indulging in paths of strong emotional intensity.
If this is the one formula, the spider of the Minelli company is the 96-month aged Parmesan, another exceptional product rich in nutritional elements. With a dry, crumbly and grainy texture that acquires marked notes of hay and dried fruit and dried mushrooms to taste, to be enjoyed on its own combined by contrast with more intense and spicy aromas, with jams and mustards capable of enhancing its intense and persistent flavour.
Going down, not in terms of level, but in times, one can stop - always remaining in our play on words - at the luxury limousine, the Malandrone aged 60 months
Where you meet a highly digestible product particularly suitable for lactose-free diets. Despite the strong consistency, it is always sweet and never spicy, the aromas of butter gradually give way to hints of hay and dried fruit. It is appreciated as an appetizer seasoned with the precious balsamic vinegar of Modena and accompanied by meditation wines or wines with an intense flavour.
If all this is the showcase of the Minelli stable, one can easily imagine what the lower ages offer, with their savory and fascinating sweetness, bearing in mind that these are cheeses virtually suited to be routed over 60, 90 and 120 months .
So let's go into the specifics of the world of Minelli to understand how it is possible to produce a cheese that matures for 120 months, the equivalent of ten long years - very long years for any cheese - while maintaining an incredible sweetness with hints of spice without tingling on the palate and without taking the strong smell of the organoleptic alteration of the material.
To produce an excellent Parmigiano Reggiano DOP you need raw material, very fresh milk, territory for air and humidity, and the skill of the master cheesemaker for the processing and maturing phases. It has been like this for centuriesby Benedictine monks and circestensi who produced these large wheels intended for aging since the XII century and which the Minelli dairy strictly respects today.
The production of Parmigiano Reggiano Malandrone 1477 begins from fields of Frignano where 95/100% of the cultivated hay is produced. It is rarely purchased and, if necessary, only from neighboring growers. And for the feed, used to complete the feeding of the approximately 300 cows, is purchased from feed mills adhering to the Consortium's specifications.
The processing takes place in an absolutely traditional way. The milk of the evening is spread in special wide and low vats for the surfacing of the cream which will be largely removed the following morning. Subsequently it is brought into the boilers where the milk from the morning milking is added in order to obtain a semi-fat cheese. The master cheesemaker proceeds with the cooking by adding the whey and rennet necessary on the basis of the characteristics of the milk, the experience and skill of the cheesemaker himself.
The cheese mass obtained at the end of the milk processing is wrapped in a linen cloth, subsequently cut into two parts, each of which is inserted into a mold. The day after, each form is transferred to the appropriate steel bands which give the cheese its characteristic "rounded" shape. After a few days, the forms are immersed for 18 days in a saturated solution of table salt and water.
At this point in the Parmigiano Reggiano production process, almost a month has passed. Now the seasoning phase begins. The wheels are placed on wooden planks in a warehouse in Miceno in Pavullo nel Frignano, where the mountain air increases the value and quality of the product, which is constantly monitored for temperature and humidity. During the rest of at least a year, each wheel is methodically turned, checked and brushed. After 18 months of seasoning, a further expertization is carried out necessary to affix the "Export" brand
All these precautions manage to create a Parmigiano Reggiano that is always sweet, pleasant and totally satisfying on the palate in any seasoning, from the simple 26 months to the complex and intriguing 120 months and beyond, and does not present in any way the pinch, the bitterness, the " too strong” that everyone thinks aged Parmesan is, that they change their thoughts only after tasting it.
The most difficult work is upstream of the wheel production: in forage, nutrition and animal health, aspects that are usually taken a little too much for granted - so to speak - by producers attentive to management economies which, however, then they spill over to quality.
Particular attention is then dedicated by Minelli to production rhythms: his production is daily and not monthly or yearly, this means that one must always be on the lookout for any problem since an apparently innocent problem for a cow can "sabotage" an entire day's work; any defects which, however, will only be discovered 2 years later (before the beating but it can happen that a perfect shape for beating may still be not right in terms of taste) or in our case even after 10 years.
Bearing in mind, in conclusion, that with all these conditions Minelli does not produce more than 6-7 wheels a day, its is a niche product that does not exceed 2500 wheels a year, we can also understand - it is appropriate to say - what pasta Minelli is made of and what pasta Malandrone 1477 is made of.
