WTN: Giuseppe Cortese "Rabaja" DOCG Barbaresco 1999: a sinful evening!

Waft of "fennel/slight wet forest" after pouring the wine, as I waited for my friend to arrive at "Aya", a great BYOB Mediterranean restaurant in Center City. I had carried my huge red wine glasses on a 25 minute walk from home - soooooo worth the effort! Whenever I see the word "elegant" as a descriptor and a 13,5 % alcohol level, it usually is an indication that I probably will have a great wine experience, which, with this "Rabaja" I certainly did. Yeeehaaa! The wine opened up and the fennel dissipated, giving room for more complexities and depth: smokiness, leather, and a glorious sophisticated licorice finish. Tannins tamed and not overwhelming, provided excellent structure for the ground beef in my "mousaka". The wine also went beautifully with my grape leaves with spicy basmati rice with a garlicky tzatziki appetizer. I will have to work twice as hard tomorrow at the gym, but living in "SIN" tonight was "oh so sweet"!

Sounds delicious, Paulo. Italian wines rock!

Sounds delicious, Paulo. Italian wines rock!

You got it, Brian! This was definitely one of the best this year so far. Elegant, well structured, and complex. YUMMMMMM!!!! Gonna have to get this wine again!

Sadly enough, K&L Wines only has other producers' Rabaja wines. I'll have to dig a little deeper for this one!