Tonight’s dinner was Penne Rigate topped with a sauce of guanciale, eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, and onion. I used all of the smaller piece of guanciale in the package, chopped into 1/8 inch dice and crisped with most fat drained before adding the tomato sauce. It was good with a 1993 Cerbaiona di Diego Molinari Brunello di Montalcino - cork lightly saturated about halfway; medium ruby garnet in color; slight mild tannins, which disappeared with the food; rich, spicy red fruit in nose and flavors; rich mid-palate of spicy fruit and barely adequate acidity; and a long spicy fruit finish. The rich spice and fruit were very good with the the heavily guancialed pasta sauce. With our last glass after the food, the soft tannins returned.
Then to finish we had Chocolate & Hazelnut-Chocolate Gelati with a 1990 Badia á Coltibuono Vin Santo. The Vin Santo was a little bit light for the chocolate gelati, but still nice.
Another nice meal on a clear, cooling evening.