1998 Quintarelli Valpolicella

To start of, this is one of the wines that really got me excited about Valpolicella. Tony from the fountainhead and fat cat gave me a bottle of the 1996, and I have been smitten ever since. Unfortunately, the wine took a sharp upswing in price for the '97 and '98 vintages, so we were not able to buy a lot of it for BONDA. I still have a few bottle which I bring out from time to time.

My friend Jay (also Godfather to Cooper) was passing through, and after a pathetic golf game, I made a quick pasta of cauliflower and cherry tomatoes. I did a quick pass of my cellar, and saw a bottle of the Quintarelli, and thought it would be a perfect compliment.

At first, it was a little medicinal, with tight tannins and a bit acidic. It turned totally awesome after I decanted it for 45 mins of so. I hate to say it, but bicycle tire on the nose, with hints of mocha, cherry, plum jam, yeast developing into pure pleasure on the palate. Difficult to describe, with touches of linseed oil, alcohol, sandal wood, allspice and pink peppercorn.

Jay described it as a "dirty" wine, but I would equate that to rustic and old world. To recreated the pasta, saute onions, garlic and cauliflower with a bit of red pepper flakes. 1/2 cherry tomatoes, and cook down til there is a nice sauce. Toss with whole wheat pasta and parmesan.