The Melting Teapot

Today was a very busy day, and it was getting late, so I pulled together a quick and easy dinner tonight -- Penne (whole wheat) in Vodka Sauce (Trader Joe’s Organic).  Yup, I boiled pasta and heated up a jar of spaghetti sauce.

It wasn’t all jars and dried goods, though.  I also steamed a beautiful whole artichoke, using a special artichoke steaming rack I purchased many years ago.  It is much like this one, offered at Amazon.com:

I was tired and wasn’t feeling very creative, so I pulled out a bottle of Italian wine that was sitting on the sideboard. . . mostly because I hadn’t tucked it away  in the racks yet.  The wine I grabbed was a  2004 Giovanni Manzone Barolo Bricat. I didn’t actually expect it to be a perfect pairing, but at least it would be a nice glass of good wine after a hard day.

It was rather surprising to find that the match wasn’t bad at all.  In fact, it was quite an intriguing pairing.  Against the rich, naturally buttery artichoke, some of the secondary elements of the Barolo began to shine.  In particular, the wild, weedy, herbaceous finish really came through.  The tannins were evident, but the natural oils of the artichoke helped balance those a bit.

Of course, this was a lighter Barolo than most I’ve had, especially given how young it  is.  Usually, Barolo is one of those wines that really needs several years to tame the beast.

I purchased this bottle last week after attending a Barolo tasting at a local wine shop (Fine Wines in Redmond).  Here are my notes from that night:

The bottles had been open for at least 4 hours before the tasting. This was the lightest in color and the least aggressive wine of the evening. It seems to be ready to drink now.

Super light in color, as light as a translucent pinot. It has a very pretty nose. The man next to me (Joe) loved the aroma and called it a "bowl full of roses.” The tannins aren't as aggressive as in most Barolos.  Strawberry, raspberry, in some ways a one-note wine (not incredibly complex, but still quite tasty). Unlike the others sampled tonight, I can actually taste the finish  because my mouth hasn't been shut down by the tannins.

Now, as I sip an after-dinner glass of the wine while writing this post, I am getting a nice tangy rhubarb among the the raspberry.  The nose is absolutely stunning, and in spite of the light color of the wine it is full of flavor.  It is not a cheap wine, but for a good quality Barolo the price is reasonable.