So here I am, minding my own business, looking through our wine closet for something to drink with dinner. All of a sudden, it jumps out and grabs me! This cute little innocuous bottle that was standing on a shelf (ignored for Bacchus-knows how long) demanded to be consumed. I have no idea from whence it came. A 375 ml, dark green, bottle that could best be described a portly.
Turns out my little buddy is from Villa Sparina in Dolcetto d’Acqui, Gavi, Italy. The 2000 <<Bric Maiolo>> was imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates, meaning it could have been a gift from my old friend Jeffrey Meisel who I met when he managed the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant – Oh so many years ago. Well in the end…Who cares where it came from? It’s open and in my glass now!
This Dolcetto is dark, blood red, just starting to show a little age on the edges. Ripe plum, black olive, almond, and licorice all teased my nose really peaking my interest in what is to come. The mouth is just as interesting. Add other fruits like black cherry and red berries, and lavender to the mix with very soft chalky tannins rounding the mouth as the finish shows cedar and spice, a little tangerine peel and juicy acids that go long.
It paired nicely with my wife’s lovely Butternut Squash Risotto, but I could easily imagine it with Salumi or other savory meats.
Oenophilia - An obsessive disorder or just a way of life? 
Finding a bottle of wine you forgot about brings the same thrill as finding a $20 bill in the coat you wore last winter.
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