Do I note a transgression???

[Botafogo]

Caution, actual wine content ahead:

Tonight I took my Portugues professora and two visiting Brasileiras to our favorite restaurant, Hideo Mitsuno's Restaurant 2117. We quickly demolished a bottle of A, Margaine Brut with Calimari and Scallop appetizers and then opened two different reds to deal with the oncoming onslaught of squab, venison and foie gras: An International Style Super Tuscan Sangiovese called "Puro Sangue" (pure blood) 1997 from Livernano and a traditional, slightly apassito Nebbiolo based wine, the Nino Negri Sassella le Tense 1996, from the Valtellina.

From the get, everyone at our table loved the elegant, multifaceted smoked meat and rose petal aromas and silky textures of the Sassella and though people oohed and aahed over the color of the Pure Blood and it was thick and viscous and fruity it was ultimately third class compared to the Negri despite costing three times as much. The Sassella opened up and gave new views of the terroir of Valtellina with each dish while the one dimensionallity of the Tuscan fruit bomb became more apparent with each sip. The aroma of the Sassella was such that a diner two tables away (a famous local chef having a night out) commented on it wafting his way from the decanter and we gave him a glass.

My guests, none of whom were particualarly sophisticated wine wise ALL prefered the traditional style by a mile. Not a scientific sample but one in an ongoing series of anecdotal results.

Next week, a blind tasting of guarana, Roberto