This past shabbos saw us back on home soil, and we could not be happier.  Hey, nothing against Australia, but two to three weeks away is more than enough for me in one stretch.  So, with little time to prepare, we arrived home dead on Thursday, we went with a simple standby, our Puttanesca recipe, along with whole wheat spaghetti.

With Tisha B’Av coming up, we had to stay away from meat, as we do not eat meat on the week that Tisha B’Av falls.  So a non-meat dish was in order, and we had a hunkering for a warm cooked meal, so puttanesca it was.  We threw in some whole wheat spaghetti and fresh green salad and that was all.

To pair with this tangy and acidic dish, I went with a lovely Côtes du Rhône that was selling for a steal during the Passover sale at KosherWine.com.  Keeping it simple on this post, wine notes follow below:

2007 Vignobles David Côtes du Rhône Le Mourre de l’Isle – Score: B+ to B++
The nose on this purple colored wine starts off hot initially, after it settles down it shows black plum, cranberry, cloves, coffee, oak, and stone/mineral notes. After it has enough air, about 1 to two hours, the nose cleans up, and a bit of oak is noticeable, along with black cherry and more cloves. The mouth on this dense and interesting, yet not so complex wine, starts with layers of black cherry, black plum, and spice. This wine is a spicy with sleek race horse lines that have enough concentration to make you look up from your glass.  The dense flavors roll into a soft, acidic, and mineral mid palate. The finish is long with a trail of oak, nice tannins, black cherry, plum, pepper and coffee.  The wine is spicy and sultry and lingers long on the palate with coffee, spice, and black cherry.