Showing posts with label BYOB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BYOB. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Nickel & Nickle Chardonnay BYOB at Captain Dave’s Destin

Nickel & Nickle Chardonnay BYOB at Captain Dave’s Destin (FL) Seafood Dinner

Visiting The Cove, our Destin (FL) vacation rental, we dined at Captain Dave’s On The Gulf restaurant, a local institution on the Emerald Coast, and a convenient short walk away. 


Captain Dave’s On The Gulf is the oldest seafood restaurant in Destin, family owned and operated since 1968. It offers beach front views from the spacious high ceiling dining room overlooking the gulf. 


They feature the usual appetizers, soups, salads and sides. Their speciality is American seafood cuisine infused with a ‘contemporary Gulf Coast twist’. - the local fresh catch seafood dishes - Flounder, Grouper, Mahi Mahi, Snapper and Refish as well as shrimp, lobster and salmon as well as steaks and chicken dishes. 

“Captain Dave’s Faves” signature dishes are artfully prepared with imaginative preparations featuring their signature homemade sauces such as their Parmesan Italian Cream Sauce. Our server, Dee, provided prompt attentive gracious and friendly service. 

Linda ordered from the starter menu the Coconut Shrimp as her entree.

Coconut Shrimp - Lightly sautéed and dusted with coconut with Dave’s homemade orange marmalade dipping sauce 

Pat R and I both ordered one of Dave’s Faves signature dishes - the Mahi Parmesan. 

Mahi Parmesan - Mahi Mahi broiled in Captain Dave’s homemade Parmesan Italian Cream sauce topped with Parmesan cheese - a plate size filet of Mahi basking in an incredibly delicious Parmesan butter cream sauce with shallots and scallions.



All entrees are served hush puppies, salad and choice of sides. 

Linda raved about the Coconut Shrimp and Pat and I both loved the Mahi Parmesan. 


The wine list is extremely limited with few selections or red and whites, featuring one crowd pleaser Jordan Chardonnay and two ultra-premium reds, Quintessa and Opus One Napa Cabernets. Thankfully, they accommodate BYOB service with aptly handled our Napa Chardonnay from our home eellar. 


Nickel & Nickel Napa Valley Carneros Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay 2018

We brought from our home cellar, this 2018 release, the last bottle of the oldest vintage of our vertical holdings of several vintages of this label, as part of proper cellar inventory management.


This is from Nickel & Nickel, a subsidiary of the legendary ultra-premium producer Far Niente Winery and Vineyards. If you've visited Napa Valley, you passed their winery estate on St Helena Highway 29 in Oakville as you enter Napa Valley from the south. 

Nickel & Nickel was established by the partners of Far Niente in 1997 focused on producing single-vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the appellation's most significant growing regions. Dedicated exclusively to producing 100 percent varietal, single-vineyard wines that best express the distinct personality of each vineyard, they expanded their portfolio to also produce single-vineyard Chardonnay, Merlot, and Syrah wines.

Nickel & Nickel focus on 100% varietal, single-vineyard designated wines, sourced from as many as seventeen different vineyards, primarily in Napa Valley, but now extended to include some sites in the Sonoma County Russian River Valley appellation

Their approach emphasizes selection of the very best vineyard locations and unique soil compositions required to make superior single-vineyard wines. Each Nickel & Nickel wine is a celebration of 'place' or terroir. It's amazing how such can reveal how vineyards only miles apart, but of the same grape varietal, yield wines of unique character and distinction.

This label release is 100% Chardonnay from the Truchard Vineyard located in the heart of Carneros AVA, prized for its rolling hills, sun exposure, and cool, breezy conditions that allow long, even ripening. Nickel & Nickel wines are produced from 14 select acres of this 270-acre vineyard, planted in 2007.

The Carneros region straddles the southernmost portions at the confluence of the Sonoma and Napa valleys, lying just north of the San Pablo Bay (an offshoot of the San Francisco Bay). There, southwestern exposure to the bay winds and fog, created when warm inland air meets cool sea air, keep temperatures relatively low, making this California wine region perfect for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 

The growing season tends to be long in this cooler area, allowing for fully mature fruit at harvest. 

The vineyard is predominately a neutral, gravelly loam from the Felton soil series, with volcanic ash and rock which are well-drained soils formed from weathered sandstone and shale. 

Indeed many of our favorite and many memorable wines are from Carneros vineyards from some of the most heralded producers. 

Nickel & Nickel Napa Valley Carneros Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay 2018

This wine shows the classic style of Carneros Chardonnay."Winemaker Notes - The 2018 Truchard Chardonnay is a beautiful marriage of youthful vibrance and refined elegance. Gorgeous aromas of tropical fruits, citrus and wet stone leap from the glass with the very first swirl.’ 

“The same tropical and citrus notes follow on the palate, with pear, peach blossoms, and a touch of spice to round out the flavor profile. This wine is weighty, with an oily-textured component that is inherent to the vineyard. A harmonious mix of acidity and volume, this wine is full and fresh.”

This label was rated 92 points by Wilfred Wong of Wine.com.

Pale golden straw colored, medium bodied, not as big or full as some other releases of this label (2022), bright vibrant tart lemon citrus, pear and apple notes with sprites of mineral, with hints of buttery toasted oak on a lingering bright acidic finish. 

Friday, August 1, 2025

Château Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru Classe’

Château Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru Classe with Waygu Beef at Entourage DG 

Having been traveling for much of the month of July, Friday night dining out, we returned to Entourage Restaurant in nearby Downers Grove, which has become our favorite go-to eatery with a diverse menu of delectable selections. This was a return visit for us with friends/neighbors Richard and Adessa. 

We’ve featured Entourage numerous times in these pages, most notably our Pour Boys Wine Group dinner at Entourage last fall. This is the same restaurant group that has a sister restaurant in Naperville, also featured in these pages in  Plumpjack Reserve Napa Chardonnay at Entourage Restaurant Naperville.

After dinner, we enjoyed the live band performing on the fountain square at the train station, immediately across the street. This is a bonus for those dining outside at Entourage!

Prior to dinner we enjoyed two favorite features … taking advantage of the Social Hour, ‘early bird’ specials, we ordered the Rosemary Focaccia Bread - “Made Fresh Daily”, served with Mediterranean Olives and Sea Salt Butter. While it may be easy to discount this as a simple bread plate, it’s delicious! 


Additionally, prior to our main course, we enjoyed the Roasted Beets and Whipped Goat Cheese Salad - Arugula, Baby Gem with Spicy Pecans, Fennel, Hot Honey and Grapefruit Citrus Vinaigrette. As always, this was delicious - a wonderful pairing of flavors.


For dinner, I had one of my favorite dishes that I look forward to, but can only take occasionally, which is understandable when you see the sensational presentation! 

This signature entree continues to be amazing! It’s enough for two dinners, tonight, and then a follow on with the take-home leftovers. On occasion, we’ve actually ordered a second one for carry out to take home. 

Entourage Signature Wagyu Meatloaf Sundae - Truffle + Parmesan Whipped Potatoes, Brioche, Wild Mushroom Gravy,  Vegetable Succotash topped with Crispy Onions.

This was delicious and with ample portions - enough for a follow on take home meal with two large slices of meatloaf, but not enough of the delectable pomme puree’! But where would you put it in that tower, or what they call a ‘Sundae’!

Linda ordered what has become one of her favorite entree’s, Entourage classic signature Shrimp and Grits Spicy Shrimp & Jalapeno Grits - Blackened Wild Shrimp, Andouille Sausage, Charred Jalapeno, Charred Corn, Baby Peppers and Creole Cream. Richard also ordered this dish on her recommendation and loved it as well. 


Adessa ordered the Waygu Beef sliders and loved them. 

To pair with my Waygu beef meatloaf, I brought BYOB from our home cellar this aged vintage Right Bank Bordeaux for a perfect food-wine pairing. 

Château Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005

Grand Cru Classe’ producer Château Larmande lies north of the town of St. Emilion, close to Soutard and Cadet-Piola. It consists of 25 hectares of vineyards planted with Merlot (65%), Cabernet Franc (25%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%). Larmande was sold to the French insurance conglomerate, La Mondiale in 1991. 

Looking back at our CellarTracker tasting notes, and blogposts in these pages, this is the fourth bottle of this label we’ve enjoyed over the recent past, as we consume our remaining holdings of this label in its twentieth year, arguably at the prime, or reaching the end of its prime drinking window. We have one more remaining bottle from this vintage and I’ll miss this enjoyable label. (Records show we acquired no less than twenty bottles upon release - a great QPR - quality price ratio selection.) 

At twenty years the fill level was still fine but the cork was beginning to lose integrity as it pulled apart using a traditional corkscrew. I took my Ahso two pronged cork puller which would’ve most likely removed the cork in-tact, but I was too late and the cork disintegrated on the server who did his best to save it. 

Our server, Jason, is a Sommelier and relished the challenge and handled it well. In the end, feeble efforts to use a coffee filter, to remove the crumbled cork in the bottle,  I managed to pour the wine slowly, carefully into a decanter for serving. 

I wrote back in 2020, “It's hard to believe its been five years since I last tasted this label when I wrote,' at eleven years of age, I sense this is approaching the end of its prime drinking window as the fruits seem to have given way slightly to the emergence of the non-fruit flavors based on earlier tasting notes from three and five years ago'.

“We still hold three bottles of the case we acquired upon release. We'll need to consume these in the intermediate term, but it still has several years to go, yet.” 

My published tasting report notes for this label show nine postings with one a year ago when my notes were consistent with earlier tastings and project life still left in this release.

This vintage release was a blend of Merlot (65%), Cabernet Franc (30%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (5%).

Consistent with earlier notes … Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, aromatic blackberry and black cherry fruits accented by tones of tar, smoke, earthy leather, hints of cedar and spice, (earlier reports of mocha were not apparent), on a firm lingering tongue puckering tannin finish - fruits slightly diminished from earlier tastings with seemingly increased acidity.

RM 89 points.*

*PS. A postscript to an earlier tasting, after a couple days open in the bottle, chilled, this wine returned to its earlier elegance, structured balance and fruit, regaining earlier rating of 89 points. Once again, I shouldn't P-n-P, pop and pour these complex aged wines, rather, give them respect, open them and allow them to breathe at least a couple hours before diving in! 

**PPS: And of course, pay attention to the cork condition and use appropriate instrument for extraction! 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=351693

http://www.chateau-soutard.com/chateau-larmande-.aspx


https://entouragerestaurant.com/downers-grove/

Friday, July 11, 2025

Entourage BYOB Keenan Spring Mtn District Chardonnay

Entourage BYOB Keenan Spring Mtn District Chardonnay

Friday Happy Hour early dinner at Entourage DG (Downers Grove), we took BYOB this Napa Valley Spring Mtn District Chardonnay for pairing with our anticipated entree selection (s). 

Several times, we’ve taken two bottles, a red and a white, for pairing, depending on what we choose for our entree selections. Tonight, I took a white, confident Linda would likely order her favorite Shrimp and Grits, and, I was content with a red in any event. 

We ordered some of our standby favorites from the Special’s Small Plates offerings - Shrimp and Grits, Waygo Beef Sliders, Focaccio Fresh Bread, and Deviled Eggs. 



After dinner we had their delicious Flowerless Chocolate Cake with iced cream and fresh berries. This was wonderful with their Capuccino with double steamed milk (substitute for Expresso Latte’ not on offer). This likely adds to our new favorites menu of go-to selections for future visits.  


With our favorites Special Small Plates offerings - Shrimp and Grits, Focaccio Fresh Bread and Deviled Eggs we opened BYOB from our home cellar this full round Napa Chardonnay. . 

Keenan Spring Mtn District 2021

This is from Robert Keenan Wine Cellars high atop Spring Mountain in the Mayacamas Mountain range above St Helena. We’ve written about Keenan and our visit to their Spring Mountain District estate and their wines numerous times in these pages, some posts excerpted here - Keenan Spring Mtn Cabernet with Tenderloin Beef and Avocado, and Keenan Napa Spring Mountain Cab with Grilled Beefsteak.

Napa Valley Spring Mountain District may be our favorite of the seventeen different appellations that make up the greater Napa Valley wine producing districts. 

We tasted and acquired several vintages of Keenan wines while visiting Robert Keenan Winery on Spring Mountain as featured in this blogpost during one of our Spring Mountain District Napa Valley Wine Experiences. 

We discovered Keenan during our many visits to Napa Valley and our treks up Spring Mountain to visit Fantesca, Pride Cellars, Paloma and Spring Mountain Vineyards. 

Like those other producers, 
most of our collection of Keenan wines are Bordeaux varietal reds, although we also have collected and hold this Spring Mountain District Chardonnay. 

We have enjoyed collecting Keenan and having fun sharing and gifting it to a friend and former business alliance partner of the same name. 

Keenan WInery dates back to 1974, when Robert Keenan purchased 180 acres on Spring Mountain District. The property sits at an elevation of 1700 feet, located on the eastern slope of the Mayacamas Mountain range overlooking St Helena in Napa Valley. Today, fifty of those acres are planted to vineyards.

The Spring Mountain District gained recognition as an American Vineyard Appellation (AVA) in 1993.

The unique terroir of the appellation is characterized by low vigor soils on the steep, rocky, mountainsides, ideal for vineyards to produce wines of great concentration, structure, and pure varietal flavors.

The original acreage included the historic but crumbling Peter Conradi Winery, founded in the late 19th Century and one of the first pioneering properties established on Spring Mountain. 

The property vineyards were originally planted in Zinfandel and Syrah.

The property declined when it was abandoned during Prohibition until the time Keenan arrived in 1974. He extended the original vineyard acreage and replanted the property primarily in Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

A new winery was built using the existing stonewalls from the old Conradi building. Keenan Winery’s first harvest there was in 1977.

Michael Keenan took over leadership of the estate in 1998 and replanted the vineyards to increase grape quality. He built a solar power system that went on-line in 2007 that now supplies all of the estate’s energy needs.  

Notably, winemaking duties during the early years were done by legendary consulting winemaker Nils Venge. We hold many labels of Nil's own wines as well as many of the wines he crafted for Del Dotto and many other leading labels. Nils was winemaker for this 2005 as well as that 2003 Cabernet release as shown on the rear label (below). 

Today Keenan Winery produces four estate wines from grapes grown on the Spring Mountain Estate: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Reserve, Cabernet Franc and a Merlot and Reserve from the Mailbox Vineyard. They also produce one Bordeaux Blend which they call “Mernet” for its Merlot and Cabernet varietals.

CellarMaster for this 2021 Chardonnay release was Aristeo Garcia, working with General Manager Matt Gardner. 

Winemaker’s notes for this wine. “Keenan's 2021 Chardonnay was hand harvested, de-stemmed, then gently pressed. The juice was fermented and aged in French and American oak barrels. The wine was left on the lees and the barrels were stirred weekly. No secondary, or malolactic fermentation was carried out, leading to the crisp, citrus character of this wine. The wine was bottled after approximately seven months of aging in the cellar.”

Winemaker’s tasting notes: “The finished wine shows citrus, ripe pear and green apple in the nose. Hints of lush white peach are noticed as the wine opens up. The sur-lie aging has added richness and complexity, and a touch of toasty oak returns on the finish. Like all of Keenan’s wines, this Chardonnay is a food worthy wine whose crisp acidity and medium body, will accompany a wide variety of cuisine.”

This release was rated 93 points by James Suckling and 92 points by Wine & Spirits Magazine. 

Keenan produced 2370 cases of this 100% Chardonnay, all sourced from Keenan high elevation estate vineyards. 

Golden straw colored, medium bodied, full round crisp flavors of apple, pear and hints of peach and lemon zest with chalky mineral notes and crisp acidity on the lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

 

@KeenanWinery 

@nilsvenge


Friday, June 20, 2025

Pirouette BYOB with Familiar Favorites at Entourage DG

Pirouette BYOB with Familiar Favorites at Entourage DG 

Seeking pre-weekend early Friday dinner, we dined at Entourage Entourage DG (Downers Grove) Downers Grove, intent of enjoying some of our familiar favorite Entourage dinner selections as featured in these pages in earlier blogposts

In the end, we ordered these same two entrees as with  a previous visit - Fontanafredda Barolo with Meatloaf at Entourage DG, as excerpted below.

It would’ve been nice sitting outside on the street front tables watching the workers and vendors set up the tents and the stands for this weekend’s Downers Fest, before the madness set in, but the skies opened with cloudbursts and thunder outside just as we were arriving. 

Taking advantage of their call ahead ‘priority’ seating option, we were promptly seated inside. With somewhat limited seating, and growing popularity, it’s becoming a tough seat for dinner so mid-afternoon is a smart time to visit Entourage for easier access seating, such as was the case today, in the dining room and at the bar.  

I’m almost reticent to share this secret as I don’t want to have to compete with bigger crowds for a table at this venue but I’d be remiss to not mention “‘Social Hour at Entourage DG!”,  Where Small Plates, Specialty Cocktails, Wines by the Glass and Beer are 1/2 off! Weekdays from 3PM - 5PM Sun - Thurs 8PM to close / Fri - Sat 9PM to close.” 

Reader’s of these pages know we’ve featured Entourage often, as it has become one of our favorite go to dining destinations in the western suburbs of Chicago in recent months, as shown in some of the links below - 

Taking advantage of the Social Hour, ‘early bird’ specials, we ordered the Rosemary Focaccia Bread - “Made Fresh Daily”, served with Mediterranean Olives and Sea Salt Butter. While it may be easy to discount this as a simple bread plate, it’s delicious! 


Additionally, prior to our main course, we enjoyed the Roasted Beets and Whipped Goat Cheese Salad - Arugula, Baby Gem with Spicy Pecans, Fennel, Hot Honey and Grapefruit Citrus Vinaigrette. As always, this was delicious - a wonderful pairing of flavors.


As intended when we set out for Entourage tonight, I ordered what is one of my favorite dishes on the menu, their signature Wagyu Meatloaf Sundae - Truffle + Parmesan Whipped Potatoes, Brioche, Wild Mushroom Gravy,  Vegetable Succotash topped with Crispy Onions.

This signature entree continues to be amazing, delicious and ample in portions - enough for a follow on take home meal. Two huge slices of meatloaf, and not enough of the delectable pomme puree’! But where would you put it in that tower, or what they call a ‘Sundae’!

Last time we ordered this, we actually ordered an extra to take home for a follow-on meal.  



Linda had what has become one of her favorite go-to dishes - the Spicy Shrimp & Jalapeno Grits - Blackened Wild Shrimp, Andouille Sausage, Charred Jalapeno, Charred Corn, Baby Peppers and Creole Cream.

This was equally delicious, but it’s too spicy for my tastes, okay for hers, although she set aside the Jalapeno’s. Nice portion size for a ‘small plate’.

Often, we bring two bottles of wine, a red and a white, to offer two choices based on what we end up ordering. 

Tonight, we brought from our home cellar just one BYOB special bottle that was an ideal pairing with my Waygu beef meatloaf. 

Long Shadows Vintners Collection “Pirouette” Columbia Valley Red Blend 2009 

Having just received the latest release of this label, as part of our wine club allocation shipment, I pulled the oldest vintage of this label to drink, as part of cellar inventory management rotation, from the nearly dozen vintages of this label that we hold in our cellar. We’ve actually supplemented our collection of this label with additional bottles from auction house Wine Bid (as shown below).

As part of the Vintner’s Collection portfolio, world class winemakers are selected to work in collaboration with Long Shadows to produce world class wines, sourced from fruit from the finest selected vineyards in Washington State Columbia Valley. 

This special bottling label is crafted by legendary winemakers Philippe Melka and Agustin Huneeus, Sr., teamed to combine the traditions of old world winemaking, the advancements of new world technology, and small lots from Washington State's finest vineyards to craft this red blend.

Pirouette is made by Philippe Melka, named one of the top nine winemakers in the world by Robert Parker, selected to produce this signature label for the Winemakers Collection.

We have long been fans of Philippe Melka and his signature labels Matisse and 'CJ', named for his children, and for his consulting winemaker contributions to a dozen of notable high end brands across Napa Valley.

While we had owned the various labels over the years, we really discovered Long Shadows at the Long Shadows Wine Cellars tasting room during our Woodinville Wine Experience. We joined their club and have been taking regular shipments of the collection ever since. They provide remarkable wines at great value relative QPR. 

Philippe Melka, widely recognized as one of the leading craftsmen of his trade, graduated from the University of Bordeaux, France, where he received a degree in geology in 1989. After taking a course in Terroir and Viticulture, he aspired to become a winemaker. After earning a second degree in Agronomy and Enology, he applied what he learned working at prestigious wineries in Australia, Italy, California and France, including some of the world's most revered producers, Petrus, Haut Brion and Dominus, among others.

In Napa Valley, Melka honed his craft while contributing to the production of several highly acclaimed wines from a number of the most elite estates including Marston, Seavey, Constant, Lail, Bryant Family, Caldwell, Quintessa (which is owned by collaborator in this label, Augustin Hunneus), Hundred Acre, and Vineyard 29.

Today, Philippe Melka and his wife, Cherie, reside at Melka Cellars in Napa Valley. Cherie is an accomplished wine professional and laboratory manager at Silver

This is one of our favorite, best drinking labels in our cellar, ideal for our red meat selections, a red Bordeaux varietal blend, that is more moderate in the blend than a Cab Sav predominate Left Bank, or a Merlot predominate Right Bank. This is a blend of  57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Malbec sourced primarily from Red Mountain in the Central Columbia Valley.. 

The Cabernet Sauvignon is from Red Mountain Vineyards, manifested in this wine in the structure and textured richness characterized by the grapes from this acclaimed growing region. From the Dionysus Vineyard, Petit Verdot adds layers of complex aromas and flavors. The remainder of the blend is from select Wahluke Slope vineyards. The Merlot brings juicy richness to the finished wine; Cabernet Franc adds a hint of earthiness; and Malbec contributes appealing spice and beautiful color.

This wine fermented in 400-liter wood barrels with wild yeasts. . 

This release was packaged in a painted bottle, while later vintages had the traditional printed paper labels.  

Winemaker Notes - “The 2009 Pirouette offers vibrant aromas of black cherry, violets, and incense that leap from the glass. Ripe currant flavors, hints of black olive, roasted coffee bean and vanilla nuances provide layers of depth, with excellent structure and polished tannins contributing to its lengthy finish.”

This release was rated 95 points and Cellar Selection by Wine Enthusiast, 93 by Vinous, and 91 points by Wine Spectator, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Connoisseur’s Guide. 

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, elegantly polished, smoothly textured, a symphony of finely integrated layers of ripe blackberry and black cherry accented by notes of dark chocolate, cassis, spice and a nice complement of oak with silky tannins and soft mouthfeel on a lingering vibrant finish.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, concentrated, intense, rich, round ripe black raspberry, blackberry and black currant fruits accented by bright sprites of cassis, dark chocolate, dark spices and herbs, complemented by notes of sweet oak, finishing with lingering perfume, length and seizing tannic grip. 

RM 93 points. 




Friday, May 30, 2025

Ravello Restaurant Montgomery

Ravello Restaurant Montgomery 

Returning home from our Destin, Florida vacation getaway we stopped in Montgomery, AL for dinner. What a pleasant surprise to discover the history and architecture of Alabama’s state capitol city, and the Capital campus and grounds, federal building (s), and parks and monuments, testaments to the historic old south slave markets and the civil rights movement. It is definitely worth a return trip as a destination in it’s own right to explore further! 

We were drawn to Montgomery to dine at Ravello Restaurant with its fine dining offering coastal Italian cuisine based on the rich culinary heritage of the Italian Amalfi Coast, with fresh seafood, pastas and meats, and Wine Spectator Award of Excellence wine list.


Ravello’s magnificent multi-story dining room boasts historic architecture of a former bank. The site was a City Fed restoration project, integrating three buildings from 1926, which now house Ravello its rooftop Bar Attico and private event spaces, in the heart of downtown Montgomery, blocks from the government district.


For a starter we shared the Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula, candied blood orange, prosciutto, goat cheese and blood orarange vinaigrette. 

Linda ordered the Seared Gulf Red Snapper with Salsa Verde, and a side of the Brussels Sprouts which were extraordinary and a highlight of the meal.


For my dinner I had the Filet of Beef with black garlic butter and a side of Polenta. 

The Ravello wine list/cellar offers 265 different wines from a collection of 2200 bottles. The twelve page Ravello wine list holds a.Wine Spectator Awarded with two pages of WBTG - Wines By The Glass, a page of Champagne and Sparkling wines, a page of Whites, three pages of Reds, plus a page of Reserve Wines, a page of Limited and Rare Wines, and a page of La Sirena wines by legendary winemaker Heidi Barrett. 

Some of the highlights or interesting labels are three vintages of TESSERON ESTATE "PYM-RAE" MT. VEEDER RED BLEND at $750 each, and culminating in a DOMAINE DE LE ROMANEE-CONTI “ECHEZEAUX” GRAND CRU 2020 for $1800. Pages of the wine list are shown below:




Repeating what I have often said about such wine lists, that “I can’t afford to drink my own cellar”, two wines that we drank from our cellar recently were offered, notably, Chateau Gruaud Larose 2005 (Gruaud Larose BYOB at Entourage DG) for $575, and Chateau Palmer (Family Christmas Celebration Dinner) 2011 for $950. 

That said, it just so happened I had in the car a vintage Bordeaux that I was transporting from our Destin remote wine cellar back home, so I pulled it for a BYOB wine accompaniment with our dinner. Based on the above calibrations, it would’ve carried a wine list price of around $600. (This bottle was brought by fellow ‘Pour Boy’ wine buddy Lyle to Destin for a recent visit and we didn’t get to it during our multiple dinners. We’ll enjoy a replacement together from our home cellar at an upcoming dinner when back in Chicago.) 

Château Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Grand Cru Classe’ Bordeaux 2012 

The Château Smith Haut Lafitte estate lies about 30 km south of the City of Bordeaux, 4 km outside the village of Léognan. 

The historic estate dates back to the 14th century when Verrier Du Bosq signed the first recorded deeds for a few vine rows. George Smith, a Scottish wine merchant, acquired the property in the mid-18th century and named it after himself.

The Fleurs-de-lis emblem logo on the label represents the three branches for George Smith’s three children, and representing the Verrier du Bosq family who founded the vineyard, a crescent emblematic of the Port of Bordeaux: the “Port of the Moon”. The port became an important wine export shipping center sending regional wines to England and the Netherlands and beyond.

In 1842, the estate was acquired by Lodi Martin Duffour-Dubergier, Mayor of Bordeaux, and signer of the official 1855 classification, who elevated Smith Haut Lafitte wines to Grand Cru Exceptional status.

In the early 20th century, the négociant firm Eschenauer, headed by the famous “Uncle Louis” Eschenauer, sold Smith Haut Lafitte wines and ended up buying the château in 1958.

In 1990, the estate was acquired by current owners, Daniel and Florence Cathiard, acquired with the firm intention of continuing its tradition of excellence, “to do everything possible to make each vintage of red and white wine worthy of our magnificent terroir.” 

The estate terroir boasts the classic Gravels « Graves Gunziennes » forcing the vines to dig more than 6 meters deep and the grapes benefit from the stones’ mirror effect from the sun to aid in optimal ripening. The vines average age is 38 years. 

The Cathiards Aspent spent three years renovating the estate and now live there in the 18th century chartreuse dating from George Smith’s time. Grounds of forests, hedges, and hives surround the 87 hectares of the single block vineyard.

This 2012 release is 55 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 40 % Merlot, 4 % Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.
It was aged 18 months on lees in French oak barrels (60 % new) made at the Château onsite cooperage, with one racking only, and then ageing adjusted for each wine.

Comments by Fabien Teitgen, Technical Director - “Château Smith Haut Lafitte red 2012 offers a beautiful dark bright red colour with blue hue. The already expressive nose reveals very fresh notes of red fruits (strawberry, cherry) with a hint of smoke. Once aerated, the nose complexity appears with delicate notes of spices (star anise, liquorice, cinnamon), of red fruits as well as beautiful and elegant flower notes. Then the nose stretches out with terroir aromas of flint stone and fireplace. The attack in mouth is fresh and balanced with a fleshy and unctuous texture. The wine is a subtle balance between maturity and freshness: the maturity from the concentration, the impressive unctuosity and sugarity and the beautiful structure of long and classy tannins; the freshness from the tension, the dynamism and the aroma sparkle. The aromatic is very close to that of the nose, characterised by the freshness with crunchy red fruits, spices notes of liquorice, dry herbs, fireplace and flint stone.”

With a suggested drinking window of 2017 - 2027, this is no doubt at its apex for optimal consumption, but will certainly continue to hold for another decade or more.

This release was rated 95 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and a concensus 94 points by Decanter, James Suckling, Vinous, Wine Enthusiast (*Cellar Selection*) and Wine Spectator. 

Describing the 2012 release Decanter wrote, “ By this point, more than 20 years of intelligent investment by owners Daniel and Florence Cathiard had paid off.” Vinous wrote “ This is another classy Pessac-Léognan and a wonderful example from Pessac-Léognan that might well be leading the pack at this stage.”

This is as good as and as memorable Smith Haut Lafitte I recall ever having tasted, except perhaps their monumental 100 point release a few years ago. 

We enjoy tasting each new release of this label and meeting the producer as regular participants in each year’s UGCB release tour tasting in Chicago each year, (Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB)),  

Dark garnet-purple colored, medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced, complex, rich and pure nicely integrated blackberry and hints of blueberry fruits with notes of tobacco, chocolate, coffee, spice, black tea and tar with smooth polished velvety plush tannins and a long, long finish. 

RM 94 points.