Traditional Balsamic Vinegar 20 Year Silver Label - Product not always available

Given the extremely limited production, this product may only be available upon reservation.

The true Balsamic of the millenary tradition. What was once a "medicine", a remedy, an elixir. A Balm indeed, in its 100 ml bottle.

Not a sweetish or acrid black streak on the plates.

The Silver label identifies the balsamic that has obtained a minimum score at the consortium tasting of at least 270 points and is on average aged longer than the lobster (around 18-20 years).
Among the Traditional Balsamics, it is probably the one with the best quality/value/usability ratio.

But how can I be sure of this aging?

Especially considering that our world, that of Balsamic, is all based on equivocal and often untruthful communication?

Aging is guaranteed by an external and third party to the manufacturer.

After checking the documents certifying that that bottle and that liquid has been present in the vinegar factory for all those years, he submits a product sample to professional tasting by a commission of five external tasters (again, not the producer!) who blindly must give scores according to quality. Not only that, after this tasting, he also takes care of bottling and sealing the cruets (not the manufacturer!).

There is no other product in the world that follows such a rigorous procedure.

The score required for the silver label must be higher than 270 points in the tasting commission (and at least 275 points for us).

What does it mean? It means that if the product has aged 18-20 or even 40 years, it is not necessarily good!

But above all, if we see the complexity of the aging method, characterized by continuous topping up and decanting (like the solera method), there are so many variables at play (length of the series of barrels, size of the barrels, producer withdrawals, evaporation, etc. ), which in our opinion MAKES NO SENSE to fixate on the absolute years.

We must talk about quality brought by long and real aging, not about years as an end in themselves.

The Silver label is undoubtedly a mature product, with an excellent harmony between the sour and the sweet and with the characteristic bouquet given by the different woods capable of inebriating anyone.

It is sold, like all Traditional Balsamics, in the official 100 ml DOP bottle called "inverted tulip". In the gift box we find, in addition to the Acetaia brochure which explains the differences between any Traditional and the Traditional San Giacomo, a recipe book in the language and, very important, the stopper with pourer with a blown glass "hood".

To find out how to open the bottle without risking breaking the cap and for other useful tips, scan the QR code you find on the brochure you will receive or read below:

1- do not remove the cap by leveraging the neck of the bottle but unscrew it gently.

2- it should not be kept in the refrigerator, on the contrary. It's fine at room temperature.

3- the expiry date practically does not exist, just think that it has been stored for more than 25 years in open barrels placed in attics that are hot in summer and freezing in winter. Due to its chemical-physical characteristics, it can last for decades in the bottle.

4- DO NOT use it in cooking, ONLY raw. You would ruin 20 years of work

It is tasted by pouring it into a non-metallic teaspoon, preferably plastic or porcelain . The ideal way to capture all the aromas is obtained by pouring a few drops into a wine glass or into our beautiful Olfactory Chambers : tamarind, liquorice, dried fruit, dried plum, chocolate, tobacco, vanilla, woods, honey, black cherries, etc. . etc...

Each bottle is different from the others.

It is very versatile and can enrich both raw and cooked meat, a pumpkin-based first course, as well as a dessert or, a super-classic unmissable on Emilian tables, some flakes of 24 to 30 month old Parmigiano Reggiano .

NUTRITION FACTS for 5 ml:
Calories 25 Kcal, Total Fat 0 g ( Saturated Fat 0 g), Trans Fat 0 g, Cholesterol Less than 5mg, Sodium 1.8 mg, Total Carbohydrate 3.1 g, Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 6.9 g, Protein 0g .