Oakville Grill and Cellar, Fulton Market, Chicago
Sunday evening, we dined in the City, in Chicago’s Fulton Market district at the tony, trendy, Oakville Grill and Cellar with fellow Pour Boys Lyle and Dan of our Wine Group.
The upscale eatery, a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, is stylish, rustic, contemporary California design and decorating, light, bright, airy, with an upbeat energetic vibe.
The dining room and adjacent bar were festively decorated for the holiday season.
Oakville Grill prepares California inspired Midwestern cuisine. Their “Quality Statement” says “The menus are inspired by the team’s partnerships with farms, ranches, and wineries throughout California and the Midwest …. simply prepared dishes made with expertly sourced, seasonal ingredients.”
While unfortunately unavailable tonight, Lyle and Dan would’ve liked the normally offered as sides, ‘warm sourdough by middle brow, house-whipped butter’, and, ‘housemade focaccia bread with calabrian chili, olive truck olive oil’.
For my dinner entree, based on the extraordinary wines available, I ordered the filet of beef - ‘Creekstone filet au poivre, classic peppercorn sauce, mashed yellow finn potatoes and crispy parsley’.
Linda ordered the ‘coal roasted branzino with oven roasted tomato and buckley swiss chard’.
Dan ordered the ‘Harrison's Farm’s duck breast confit with farro risotto and local root vegetables’.
Linda ordered the ‘wood-fired brick chicken gilroy garlic confit, preserved lemon jus’.
The Oakville Grill and Cellar wine program specifically cites a “deliberate focus on high-quality, lesser-known California regions like Santa Barbara County and Santa Ynez Valley AVA’s”, as well as premiere high profile Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Paso Robles, and Santa Barbara regions and their sub-regions.
Wines are organized by the varietal, then region.
The Oakville Cellars wine selection features an
extraordinary, magnificent 48 page leather bound wine list with an extensive selection of 750 plus premium, ultra-premium and cult California producers’ labels - some with multiple vintages, some with a broad rare and extensive special bottling offerings.
There are seven pages devoted to the Reserve List of rare, highly allocated and super premium labels.
There are also several pages of Half bottles, Large Format bottles, and a small selection of WBTG - Wines By the Glass.
Dan and Lyle have dined there several times and have become accustomed to taking advantage of their BYOB policy. Tonight, we each brought favorite producers and special labels from our cellars for dinner.
In order of tasting …
Lyle brought a Sangiovese Brunello
Altesino Brunello Di Montalcino 2018
We started with this Sangiovese based Brunello that Lyle brought from his cellar, since, as we expected, it was more delicate, than the bigger, bold Napa Cabs. This was ideal, better suited perhaps than the Big Reds, with the lighter entrees, the chicken, branzino, and even the duck.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2024/11/byob-brunello-italian-wine-and-dine-at.html
This highly acclaimed release was rated 95 points by James Suckling, 93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck, and 92 points by Wine Spectator, Decanter and Vinous.
Winemaker Notes - “Ruby-red with a garnet rim, this wine's bouquet displays ample aromas of violet, wild berries, tobacco, chocolate, and vanilla. On the palate, Altesino Brunello is rich, full-bodied, and velvety.”
Ruby-garnet colored, medium bodied, smooth, polished, full round dark raspberry and berry fruits with notes of tobacco, chocolate, dusty earth, dried flowers and black tea with fine soft tannins on the lingering finish.
RM 92 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4481252
http://www.altesino.it/en/altesino/Dan brought a Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet.
Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
The magnificent Phelps winery, tasting facility sits overlooking Phelp's vineyards nestled in its own Spring Valley above St Helena on the western facing foothills of the Vaca range that form the eastern face of Napa Valley.
Joseph Phelps Vineyards was founded in 1973 when Joe Phelps purchased a former cattle ranch near St. Helena in the Napa Valley, the winery now controls and farms nearly 375 acres of vines on eight estate vineyards in St. Helena, the Stags Leap District, Oakville, Rutherford, Oak Knoll District, Carneros and South Napa Valley.
Phelps is best known for its flagship Napa Valley blend of red Bordeaux varietals, Insignia, first produced in 1974. Awarded Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" in 2005. Equally revered is this highly allocated single vineyard designated label from the esteemed estate Backus Vineyard in Oakville. Dan has an extensive collection of this label, procured as part of his Phelp’s Wine Club allocations over the years.
This release was rated 96 points by Jeb Dunnuck and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and 93-96 points by Vinous.
The 2014 Backus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec and was aged in 100% new French oak.
Dark garnet/purple colored, full bodied, opulent, hedonistic, rich and concentrated black berry and black currant fruits with notes of cassis, dark mocha chocolate, earth, clove spice, graphite, truffle and cedar, with ripe tannins on a long finish.
RM 95 points.
Then, for a comparison of a bottle we drank the previous evening at another dinner gathering, I brought a vintage Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cabernet.
Lamborn Howell Mountain Generation I Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Lamborn Family Vineyards is a small boutique family operation focused on distinctive terroir handcrafted Estate Cabernets and Zinfandel from their vineyards high up Howell Mountain, 10 minutes outside of the small town of Angwin in the northern Napa Valley Howell Mountain appellation. At an elevation of 2200 feet, the property is above the 1200 ft. Napa Valley fog line, the line of demarcation between Napa Valley and Howell Mtn AVA’s. With it’s near summit elevation, it occasionally experiences some winter snowfall - in February 2022 they got nearly 14 inches, blocking roads and toppling trees.
Lamborn Family Vineyards was started in 1971 when Bob and Mike Lamborn, a father and his adult son, purchased 40 acres on Howell Mountain. Eight acres are planted to vines. The 1982 debut vintage was made by winemaker Randy Dunn, a friend and neighbor. The legendary acclaimed winemaker Heidi Barrett started making Lamborn wines in 1996.
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Mike and Terry Lamborn with wine buddy Andy, sister
Jan, Linda, and brother-in-law Bill |
This Lamborn Howell Mountain Cabernet is very similar to the Outpost Howell Mountain 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon label we tasted earlier this weekend, one vintage removed, and sourced from vines literally across the road from each other, that years earlier, prior to 1998, were part of the same vineyard.
At twenty-two years, this is showing no discernable signs of aging, except for the dry but otherwise perfect cork that started to separate on opening. Of course the label is perfect, since it’s painted onto the glass of the large, oversize heavy bottle.
Robert Parker wrote, “there is no question that there are some surprisingly youthful 2003s that will last much longer than any of us thought at their inception.”
This 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was aged 22 months in French oak of which 35% was new. It is a big red packaged in a heavy, oversize, premium painted glass in lieu of label bottle.
Dark garnet colored, full bodied, classic intense Howell Mountain black fruits with complex rich textured notes of cassis, licorice, spice and earth with a pleasant, smooth tannin lingering finish.
RM 93 points.
https://www.theoakville.com/
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