Compagnia del MontaleBalsamic Vinegar of Modena, 3.4-Ounce Unit

I was hesitant to buy the Compagnia del Montale Nr 12 balsamic. But after spending hundreds of dollars of the tradizionales, reading the reviews, and looking at the price, I figured what-the-hay, I've got little to lose. Now I am certainly not a balsamic expert, but I do have a rather okay palate and have tasted some of the finer balsamics from the modena region. I would put this one right up there with the $100/3ounce tradizionale balsamics (those aged for something like 15-25 years) for a fraction of the price. Now, if you are a real connoisseur of balsamics, maybe you'll decide that it's a little high on the sugar content side and lacking some of the more complex flavors of the 25 yr balsamics. However, if you simply enjoy a rich balsamic on your ice cream, fruit, steak, or what-have-you, I do not think you can do better for the price. I'm ordering 3 more (and putting all my friends to the test to see if they can differentiate between this one and the pricier tradizionale)!From a logistical standpoint, received product in good condition (safely bubble-wrapped) 5 days following my order (4 business days). The bottle is corked with one of those plastic-type wine bottle corks, which is easy enough to remove but impossible to get back in. I recommend using a pour-spout type top or finding a different cork for capping (unless you think you are superman and can get that cork back in there without breaking the bottle).

We were not impressed at all by this balsamic vinegar. Taste is ok, but we prefer Villa Manodori Balsamic Vinegar, which sells for almost half the price. But our greatest problem with this item is the packaging. Most balsamic vinegars come with a cork top that can easily be removed and then replaced again. This one comes with a plastic cork which you need to remove with a corkscrew and cannot be easily replaced. As such you need to buy a wine cork stopper in order to prevent the contents going bad after opening, and even that won't prevent the contents from spilling out if someone accidentally tips over the bottle, as we found out when our daughter did just that and we saw half a $60 bottle pour out over our $1000 rug. Not sure what the makers were thinking giving such a premium-priced product such poor packaging - perhaps they view it as a cheap premium item? It sure feels cheap. We will definitely not be ordering this again.

This is my second purchase of this product. My friend brought back, from Italy, an extremely expensive small bottle of aged aceto balsamico. It is still in my cabinet years later. I use this one all of the time. It is perfection.

The Number 12 can almost pass for the real thing in many situations, with more texture and complexity than anything else in this price range. Good enough to pour by itself over grilled meat. But it still has enough acidity to work in salad dressing.I tried and tasted a lot of others, and Compagnia del Montale is the closest you'll get to the real deal for less than $20 an oz.

This suff is great. I'm just becoming a fan of good balsamic vinegars. As I try more, I learn if this was good or great.

Tried this as a splurge to learn more about Modena vinegars. A group of us tried it with strawberries and it was an exceptional balsamic!

Delicious on salads. You don’t even need olive oil!

I have bought the $150 bottle balsamic vinegar and believe this is actually better. I will be buying it again