I scored this 2000 @cerettowinery "Bricco Rocche" Barolo at one of the weekly web auctions held by Acker Wines. I always have fun bidding because I know I won’t find these labels (especially considering the vintage) at my local wine stores. I also love winning :-)

For dinner, I marinated some beautifully-aged steaks in soy sauce and made a rub of dried porcini mushrooms and fresh rosemary. The wine was in the decanter for over an hour while we prepped dinner.

The wine came out a beautiful garnet with an amber rim in the glass. On the nose, I picked up dried rose petal, black fruit and licorice. The complex palate showed tertiary notes of kirsch, forest floor, mushroom, cedar, coffee, spice box and tarragon. A mature wine, but the acid was still bright and carried the wine through the finish line. It went perfectly with my steak. Having an aged steak with an old wine is what dreams are made of and this pairing was meant to be.