Hibiscus-marinated lamb

[Scoop]

In the end, I went to the Piedmont and a bottle of Bricco Manzoni '95, which is a blend of 85% Nebbiolo and 15% Barbera.

It's an elegant, nicely balanced wine with some structure, approachable but restrained, with a some of that famous Nebbiolo "tar and rose" quality. It proved a nice match for the hibiscus-infused lamb (which was, in my biased opinion, tremendous).

After we drained the Bricco, we finished off a bottle I had opened the night before, a Cannonau di Sardegna 1996 Reserva (Sella and Mosco). Cannonau is a clone of Grenache and is the source of Sardinia's best wines. A little rustic, it had nice herbal and fruity notes, and it was better than when I first opened it. Great with seconds!

Cheers,

Scoop