The week began simply, with a tomato based sauce on corn pasta and remnants of tri-tip steak. Seeking something new, I opened a 2000 Di majo norante aglianico. Although I have heard and read that aglianico can age, this $9.95 bottle gave me pause: was it past its prime? Could something priced this low hold up for thirteen years? Is the price of wine indicative of its aging potential?
All concerns were laid to rest with the first sniff and sip. Wonderfully complex and layered. Full in the mouth and with still enough structure to last a long time. Tannins softened and behind the scene to add heft. A mature fruit that didn't really have a shopping list of obvious varieties: red fruit, sure, plums, cherries and ? Really just an excellent wine with this meal.
Night two, Fat Tuesday, KT wanted a burger and fries, since her lenten sacrifice this year will be fried potatoes. Such a funny thing to do for a non-Catholic but she does it every year. So Killer Burger it was and we finished the aglianico. Not as good a match as with the pasta from last night. The aglianico dispatched, I opened a 2004 Sapoleil syrah from Wally World. OMG, this was so not a wally world wine! The syrah was magical with its defined tartness. The fruit of syrah very there but not masked by the high alcohol, fruit bomb sweet quality that often defines Walla Walla wines. at 13.9 % alcohol it was just so pleasant and kind of ethereal. We always age our WW wines and this gives evidence that, for our style at least, this is a rewarding effort.
Wednesday we had Jesse, Alica and Asher over. I opened a 2011 Taschlerhof Sylvaner that was just devine. We paired it with KT's famous chicken thighs, potatoes and kale bake. It was simply wonderful. The distraction of Asher and company kept us from really meditating on the wine but there was no need because it just merged with food perfectly and didn't demand attention. Then, on Friday, with leftovers, I opened another bottle. Some bottle variation was evident, because this one was a bit frizzante. With just the two of us, we had time to really focus on this wine and oh my, what a joy to behold. The nose transported me to a high alpine field with cool breezes blowing over spring alpine flowers...absolutely wafting with delicate scents. A tight acidity and joyous fruits in the mouth. Reminded me of sylvaners from Alsace but like those taken to the next level. A wine to spend time on your knees in a high mountain chapel, giving thanks for taste buds and deep sniffs.
Thursday, VD, we had a 1998 Marchesi Cannubi barolo. 1998 to celebrate our wedding year. KT made an outstanding polenta with sausage and truffle cheese/salt/oil and shredded arugula. The wine was wonderful but not mind blowing, as I expected it to be. We really haven't spent a lot of time with barolos and so I'm not sure if my expectations were higher than could be met, if the bottle was past its prime, if it was a "dull" period or what. It was very good but not life changing like I thought it might be. Certainly not as interesting to us as the aglianico. That seems like heresy to say and maybe its a reflection of our immature palates. At any rate, it was great with the meal but the meal was the real winner here. Nebbiolo is a great food wine and this barolo played a complimentary role with style, if not with flash.
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