Tonight we were invited for a dinner of chicken mole and at neighbor's house and were asked to bring a wine. Racking my brain about what to pair with mole poblano, I consulted two trustworthy sources: the FAQ and Rick Bayless, and settled on a common theme, Tempranillo. Looking in the database, I decided to pull the '96 Finca Allende Rioja to see how it was faring:
1996 Finca Allende Rioja color: dark purple with no signs of browning nose: briery berry fruit, meat palate: medium body, good acidity, smooth tannins, balanced, animal blood
Surprisingly, the wine did go reasonably well with the mole, which brought out a bit of the fruit and gave the wine a feeling of unity. Although this wine was probably quite oaky upon its release, subsequent years have seen the oak integrate well. The cork, however, didn't age as well and splintered terribly upon attempted removal.
Mark Lipton