Aglianico and Pasta

Kara works at Mario Batali's Osteria Mozza, which I feel I must have mentioned at some point in this process. She drug me to the inaugural "Wine Lunch" at the Pizzeria side one day (months ago...) with wines from Re Manfredi. This is a producer from Basilicata who specializes in cool climate, volcanic soil-ridden Aglianico. Well, any excuse to eat Mozza pizza...

The lunch was actually really fantastic! The pairings were very insightful and the wines showed wonderully against the dishes. My particular favorite was the entry-level Aglianico with a Duck Confit, Roasted Cherries and Sage. It was brilliant! I promptly got on the phone as I left Mozza and bought a couple of six-packs for Jar's list. As well as his highly delicious Muller Thurgau/Traminer blend to pour by the glass through the summer!

After time passes, I always like to revisit these wines in a new context and having had some time to let the "hype" in my head settle down. So, I pulled a bottle of the Aglianico del Vulture from Re Manfredi 2005 to pair to a simple Spaghetti and Meatballs. Truth is, we didn't feel much like going out, so this was a makeshift pasta using leftover Aidell's Mozzarella/Tomato Meatballs from my Bday Party on Sunday. They worked great, I must say!

While I didn't have tremendously high hopes for this pairing, it worked pretty well and I had no complaints. Kara, who always gets blind-tasted on everything we open, put Aglianico in her primary possibilities. She has often remarked that Aglianico tastes of "flat Cherry Coke" to her. She's not consistent in her blind tasting, but once in awhile (and usually something obscure or very specific) she will knock it out of the park. I was impressed!

The Aglianico was particularly plummy with black cherry and smoke, a little tar and rocky mineral underlying. Of moderate body, it still showed off some pleasant acidity that worked with the tomato sauce. Hints of licorice added another layer. It was fairly straight-forward, but perfectly delicious and a good food wine.

I think I mentioned that we had a birthday party on Sunday - I'm not writing it up in this blog since we didn't drink any wine. It was pretty much a beer and cocktail gathering with some good friends. I think the best pairing of the day was the Cuban cigars and the Oban 14 Scotch that Josh and Cheree got me. But I think the birthday has officially ended - I can't take anymore celebrating!