A Wedding Anniversary, Two Pizzas And A Greek Wine

Out for dinner on Saturday at one of our favourite restaurants.......and below some of the delights. A Fish Salad, half a Lobster, Turbot Fillets, Pasta with Truffel, Duck Breasts with Dates and Almonds (house speciality) and a prepared (for what I ask) Guinea Fowl. I take my own wine..as I know the wines (all Italian) on the list. The previous two visits it has been a Pinot Noir...both times wines I have already tasted...and they seemed to suffer....so I decided this time to take the Oscar Tobia...and with the extra peppery style..it was perfect. Italian food with a Spanish Wine.






















Óscar Tobía Reserva 2004
Rioja, Spain
Intense minerals...sour cherries and plums...a trace of the oak...a wonderful easy feeling on the palate..fills the mouth..roasted tones...this is 90% Tempranillo and 10% Otras and spends 21 months in French and Hungarian oak...but no worries about soft sweet woodiness..this is 'new Spain'.....wonderful texture and a long finish.... Points 17.75


Monday....our wedding anniversary...33 years....but Monday is a 'Bad Restaurant Day' ...most are closed..and it is August..so they are almost all on holiday anyway...hence the reason we went out on Saturday to celebrate. So what did we do on Monday...well..I collected 2 pizzas...and opened a bottle of Greek wine...and we gazed at the flowers I gave to Eva-Maria.



Kir Yianna Ramnista 2005
Naoussa, Greece
I look at the bottle...14.5% ..but this is never a worry..the wine is very well balanced...and doesn't ever appear heavy. It spends 12 months in French and American oak. The grape..Xynomavro (try saying that 10 times without breathing)... Violets, plums and a healthy leather on the nose...interesting...the palate was like drinking the olive trees...wish I'd found wines like this when I was in Greece...many, many years ago...an earthy feel to it....lively acidity...again..interesting...there is a chewy tannic predominance...but this is what makes it attractive...Italian food..this time with a Greek Wine. What next..Paella and Barolo or Moussaka and Valpolicella?
Points 16.25