Anniversary dinner at Truffles, Bloomington, IN
For our anniversary, we traveled to Bloomington, IN, home of our alma mater, for a getaway weekend. Saturday night we dined at Uptown Cafe where, two years ago we hosted a gala anniversary family & friends dinner.
Sunday evening we dined at Truffles restaurant and 56 Degree Wine Bar.
Truffles Restaurant and 56° Wine Bar Bloomingon, Indiana Wine Dinner
We discovered Truffles Restaurant and 56° Wine Bar during an earlier visit to Bloomington, Indiana for an Indiana University sorority college reunion gathering. We were introduced to Truffles by long time college friends who live in town and know the dining landscape. We wrote about that visit in this earlier post - Truffles Restaurant & Wine Bar B-Town Wine Dinner - excerpted here.
Truffles Restaurant bills itself as a "chef-driven eaterie serving a range of foods from classic Steakhouse to International fare". They offer an extensive diversified wine list that is unique on the Bloomington dining scene.
The 56 Degrees Bar Wine Cellar is an ambitious venture for the Truffles family owner Mark Kiang who shares his extensive wine collection, with many selections B-T-G (by the glass), by the bottle, or via an online ordering system, with an option for delivery.He caters to local wine aficionados with a program to sign up for a monthly wine bundle subscription, and receive bottles of wines selected by the owner himself (or bottles to personal choice). Truffles will then provide recipes and pairing suggestions in the wine package and via e-newsletter.
Truffles provided a perfect setting for our special dinner - chic, cozy, comfortable and intimate.
Linda ordered the daily special grilled Red Snapper with
I ordered the Filet of Beef with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli. They understood the requested preparation and delivered a perfect “Pittsburgh” style beefsteak - charred, with a hot pink center.
From the WBTG - Wine-By-The-Glass selections, we were each able to order an ideal accompanying wine for our dinner. Linda this crowd pleaser Napa Carneros Chardonnay, and me a favorite Napa Red Blend.
Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay 2023
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| Label from 2014 |
Hourglass HG III Red Blend 2019
Hourglass "HGIII" Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend 2019
We discovered this label dining at the trendy stylish RH Restoration Hardware rooftop restaurant in Oak Brook a while back when I posted this tasting review. This big bold complex round fruit forward red blend was a perfect pairing with our filet beefsteaks. As I write often in these pages, an ideal pairing of food and wine amplifies the enjoyment of both for an optimal dining experience.
This proprietary red blend is from Napa Valley Hourglass, who have been producing ultra premium super high-scoring Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot since their inaugural release in 1997. The estate sits at the northern center of Napa Valley and consists of two vineyards focused on Bordeaux varietals.
Hourglass wines are crafted by veteran Napa Valley winemaker Tony Biagi who gained notoriety working at some of the Valley's elite wineries including Duckhorn, Paraduxx, Plumpjack, and Cade, where he was founding Winemaker before joining Hourglass.
Biagi is a sixth generation Californian whose first memories of wine go back to his father making small amounts of wine in his garage. He earned a degree in Fermentation Sciences at U.C. Davis in 1995 before working for the listed well-known estates, then joining Hourglass in 2012.
HG III is Hourglass' proprietary red blend second label produced exclusively from the Napa Valley. Biagi has made a name for himself with the critically acclaimed Hourglass wines, known for elegant tannin structure, rich mouthfeel, layers of silky textural depth and harmonious balance of richness and acidity. Biagi says: “I want my wines to be rich, but if that’s all they are they become one dimensional and monotonous,” he outlines. Writes a leading pundit, "HG III delivers a big, rich, powerful red blend, but always impeccably balanced. A real showstopper, even better with a good decant".
The 2019 HG III harmoniously combines 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petite Syrah sourced from the Hourglass Blueline Estate vineyard and a select few top-of-the-line vineyards.
This is a somewhat unconventional blend, the core trio of varieties all offer distinctive characteristics yet harmony to the final blend: Merlot leads with finesse and approachability, Cabernet Sauvignon elevates with structure and polish, and Petite Syrah grounds the blend with what one pundit calls 'gravitas and bass'.
The 2019 vintage was aged 16 months in a combination of new and seasoned French oak, contributing to its multilayered complexity and smooth tannins.
Winemaker Notes: “The 2019 vintage for HGIII is a knockout – an unequivocal example of how this expansive, rich and deeply textured wine over delivers. Tony’s ingenious blend, the core trio of varieties all offer distinction and harmony to the final blend: Merlot leads with finesse and approachability, Cabernet Sauvignon elevates with structure and polish, and Petite Syrah grounds the blend with gravitas and bass. With red and black currant forming the aromatic core, dried herb and fennel are their verdant, savory counterparts. A ripe juicy frame of dark sour and red cherry mingles with inky black cassis laced with fine streaks of dark Belgian chocolate. Undeniably approachable now, and yet with the structure, density, and complexity for great ageability.”
This was rated 94 Points by Master Sommelier Kevin Vogt, and 92 points by Jeb Dunnuck.
We enjoyed this so much during that RH experience, I went home and went on-line and snatched up all the remaining bottles in stock at Binny's, our Chicagoland wine superstore.
Bright garnet colored with hues of purple, medium full bodied, elegant, polished, full round forward, nicely integrated briary blackberry and ripe plum fruits with notes of mocha dark chocolate, clove spice, hints of vanilla, and delicate floral, with a balanced long finish combining slightly chalky tannins.
RM 93 points.
