Coq Au Vin

I was recently inspired while watching The Next Food Network Star. The contestants had to take a complicate meal and prepare in like, an hour. One of the dishes was Coq Au Vin, which they commented takes two days to prepare. Why in the world this inspired me, I have no clue. But, it did.
So, I set off to create Coq Au Vin. I used Alton Brown's recipe, and set off to clear the shelves at Publix of all the pinot noir they had.
It takes two days because you do most of the prep work a day ahead and let the partially cooked chicken set in more wine than most people consume in a year overnight.

So gather your ingredients. Here is part of the team. I only allowed one bottle of wine in the picture. And by the way...Rachel Ray is right. Tomato Paste in a tube is AMAZING. I can't say its yumm-o, because I didn't eat it, however, it is easy to work with and stores for a gazillion years in the frig. And by gazillion, I mean indefinitely, which is what the package indicates. So, its great to have on hand for recipes like this that only require 2 Tablespoons. You don't waste it.

The flour coated chicken waits its turn:

The pearl onions brown up in the grease left from frying up the bacon. This part smelled divine.

The dutch oven waits patiently.

So, after the prep, you place all the ingredients (except the pearl onions, mushrooms, and bacon) in dutch oven and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
Then you cook it for about 2 1/2 hours.
What was the final verdict:
Its a mixed review, and here is why.
My husband and I both like the flavor. I was really nervous at the amount of red wine you used, but there was no winey (I like to make up words) flavor at all. So, that was great.
The chicken was moist and there were no dry portions. Jim even like the dark meat.
I liked that it easily pulled from the bone (Jim usually has to remove chicken from the bone for me on the rare occasion we have it, and I went into making this recipe with that in mind).
My "issue" was that it was not this amazing, knock your socks off dish that I was expecting. For all the work and prep, I was expecting more. I want to take a bite and fall off my chair.
I think I will work with the ingredients and try something like this again, but I was a little disappointed in the end.
Have you ever had this happen to you? High high hopes that fell short when cooking or baking?