Saturday, August 3, 2013

Amanda's Hoboken for Elegant Casual Fine Wine-n-Dine Experience

Amanda's Hoboken for Elegant Casual Fine Wine-n-Dine Experience

Weekend getaway, our first trip to Hoboken helping son Alec relocate there, we came across Amanda's and dropped in seeking a wine and dine experience. While the 'Wine Bar' sign attracted us, don't let it mislead you, this is a full service, full menu, fine dining restaurant, much to our delight. Everything that followed was spectacular, meeting or exceeding our highest hopes and expectations in every respect. The menu offered a wide variety of seafood as well as beef, pork, chicken and lamb selections.

When presented with the wine list I was uninspired and underwhelmed. I asked the server if there were any wines not listed on the wine list and he promptly produced an extensive bound wine list offering five times more selections featuring many French and American favorites.

There were several very notable special offerings such as Chateau Figeac St Emilion 1982 ($600) and Chappellet Pritchard Hill Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 1976. There were a dozen favorites that you'll see featured in my cellar list and on the pages in this blog. There was also a list of large format bottles and offerings by glass.


While the vintage and top labels were priced accordingly, we were looking for something a bit more modest. We found a half dozen tempting selections in our price range and we opted for a Château Calon-Ségur St Estephe 2004. I thought this 'lesser' vintage would result in an approachable wine that would drink well young (nine years young) and go well not only with my Angus Beefsteak, but also Alec's mussels and Linda's Scallops entrees. I half expected this to be unavailable since I thought it represented good value, the list offered a half dozen back-ups any of which would have been ideal and delightfully suited for our tastes.

Everything went according to plan and as hoped. The ambiance was delightful, service was impeccable and the food was outstanding.

We have Château Calon-Ségur in the cellar going back to the eighties and OWC's (original wood cases) from '95 and '96. We also hold this 2004 vintage but haven't tapped it yet.




The 2004 Château Calon-Ségur was medium bodied, dark garnet colored, bright and vibrant with black and red berry fruits with a muted slight earthiness, a layer of slightly sweet cassis with a touch of tobacco and smoke leading to a smooth moderate tannin finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=89644

http://amandasrestaurant.com/


We look forward to returning to Amanda's as a highlight of our visits back to the Jersey side of he Hudson.

More Amanda's...



The family getaway weekend to Hoboken - the spectacular panorama Hoboken view of the Hudson and NYC.