Dolcetto D'Alba

With apologies to Robert Burns...

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

We mentioned yesterday that there was a duck breast with both pomegranate juice and seeds in the sauce.  My best laid scheme was that a 2008 Gianfranco Alessandria Dolcetto d'Alba would be a good choice here.  It wasn't.  The intensity of the flavors in the breast and sauce overwhelmed this wine.  On it's own the wine had appropriate color,  a nice, fruity bouquet, good acid, and nice finish.  There just wasn't enough body in the wine to stand up to the duck breast and sauce.  This was a dish that when it was complete screamed for a Barolo or  a Burgundy of somewhat more stature than just a commune or village wine.

The second night the remaining wine was paired with some baked chicken thighs and a mixture of Kaljira and wild rice.  This brought out both the fruit and acid in the wine and was a good match for finding the promis'd joy in this particular wine. 

Alessandria's wine label is basic black and white, so I shot the photo of the bottle in that mode.