My birthday treat

On the morning of my birthday before the crack of dawn I had to leave my cozy sleeping place in Athens and take to the streets, walk to a bus stop about a mile away and take the special bus that goes to the airport; my task was to fly to Geneva  for a few days and visit my relatives there.  I am extremely fortunate that my good friend NDI puts me up and puts up with me whenever I visit there, and does so with signature kindness and immense generosity. So on the day of my birthday a few weeks ago, having safely arrived in Geneva, I made my way to his home for a four night stay, with my close relatives only a short twenty minute walk away.

In the evening and to help me celebrate, if that is the right word with old age rapidly creeping up on me, my birthday, NDI put a splendid Super-Tuscan bottle on the table, together with that ultimate comfort food - spag bol - a dish unknown in its native Italy and Bologna. Tasty homemade bolognese-style sauce, super pasta, plenty of parmesan cheese and lots of pepper made for an inauthentic but delicious birthday meal to go with the proffered bottle of Oreno 2015, serious stuff! A crunchy fresh salad accompanied this lot, yummy chocolate (this was Switzerland, after all!) helped close the meal, and a happy time was had by all, especially this getting-more-spherical-by-the-day birthday boy.

There is something about simple food served with superb wine that touches the senses, admittedly in a different way to elaborate fare - simple food provides no challenge, as ambitious elaborate dishes often will, purely an accompaniment that pleases, but allows us to easily accept the enjoyable combination but concentrate on the wine.

This Oreno wine is a biggy, in the luscious way some Super-Tuscans have; they are big but not aggressively tannic, providing multiple layers of seductive tastes and textures. A Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Merlot (50%) and Petit Verdot (10%), it had that Tuscan approachability and nuances not found in its French counterparts. Our bottle, from the 2015 vintage, was certainly young (do I hear you, observant reader, cry too young???) with a dark colour and an almost sweet, rich nose. Wines with bottle age are hard to find or impossibly expensive in Geneva, and my friend has no space suitable for a small cellar so he, and I, lucky so-and-so, had to make do... No hardship, I can assure you, with the rich red fruit (mainly black cherries and damson) singing on my palate, smooth tannins helping it along its long way.

Was it too soon to drink this beauty? Probably yes.

Was it enjoyable and a splendid thing to have on one's birthday? YES, YES, YES!