The wine for the evening was a Mazzocco, Dry Creek Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2002 vintage. Medium color in the glass and medium to heavy on the tongue the wine was full of cherries and currants, some vanilla and spice, a touch of sage, just a bit of black pepper and a little dry earth. This was a very well balanced wine that just kept enticing you to take another sip. There was actually some under statement to this wine and that was most appealing.
It was near perfect with the lamb, but a revised side dish made for a tremendous experience with this wine. There was a large handful of potato gnocchi in the freezer. Normally we serve these with a brown butter and fresh sage sauce. However, there was a new item from the market on hand, a mint and pistachio pesto. We cooked the gnocchi and lightly tossed them with some of the pesto. While the mint and the pistachios added a unique taste to the gnocchi it was the next sip of wine that proved amazing. The mint in the pesto added a zing to the wine giving it a resemblance to the zestiness of a Heitz Martha's Vineyard Cabernet. The wine picked up on the mint and and the nuts and just wrapped itself around those flavors. They were remarkable together. Mental note to self: try this with some other California Cabernets.
14.3% alcohol, 2560 cases produced, gift.
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