French Wine Dinner Al Fresco at Suzettes Creperie Wheaton
We booked a dinner outside on the patio at Suzette's Creperie in Wheaton. Attracted by the delectable French cuisine, thoughtful Wine Spectator Best Award winelist, and outdoor dining, we were looking forward to a delightful evening. The final component of an ideal dinner outing was the acceptance of BYOB so I pulled from the cellar a vintage St Emilion to accompany my planned pate' or foie gras.
We dined on the quaint outdoor patio under the tent, likely a remnant of the Covid era, which had much the same feel of the patio garden under the tent as Restaurant Le Savoie where we dined in Marqaux during our trip to Bordeaux during that same trip to Provence.
I had been looking forward to ordering the Pâté and brought the Right Bank Bordeaux wine specifically for the pairing. We also ordered a selection of Appetizers that called for white wine and we chose from the winelist a very special limited release label.
One of the highlights of our visit to Chateauneuf-du-Pape was a tour and tasting at Chateau La Nerthe where we tasted the special limited release bottle Chateau La Nerthe Clos de Beauvenir. This label is only produced in select vintages with small production of fewer than 250 cases of the special white wine in a release year.
This was rated 95 points by Robert M. Parker Jr., 94 points by Wine Spectator and 93 points by Vinous / International Wine Cellar.
Golden colored, medium full bodied, expressive complex tropical fruit with notes of pear and melon with floral tones and hint of vanilla on the finish.
RM 90 points
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1131991
Linda and Vivianna both ordered the Sole Meunière served in a butter-lemon Sauce with potatoes du jour & seasonal vegetables.
 |
| Suzette Creperie Sole Meunière |
I ordered the Beef Bourgogne Crêpe, made the authentic French way with a bottle or two of Red Wine, braised with mushrooms and carrots for six hours.
 |
| Suzette Creperie Beef Bourgogne Crêpe |
Alec ordered the Duck Confit with rich duck jus on a bed of white and wild rice with seasonal vegetables.
 |
| Suzette Creperie Duck Confit |
All the entree's were delectable, ideally prepared and presented.
Chateau L’Arrosee St Emilion Grand Cru Class 2000
I brought BYOB from our cellar this 2000 l'Arrosee, St-Emilion to pair and enjoy with the pate' and the beef bourgogne entree.
In 2002, Chateau L’Arrosee was bought by the Caille family who made extensive renovations to upgrade the vineyards and wine making facilities. They hired Gilles Pouquet as consulting winemaker who had extensive experience in St. Emilion having worked at Cheval Blanc, Figeac and several other notable Right Bank properties.
In July, 2013, Chateau L’Arrosee was purchased by Domaine Clarence Dillon, the owners of Chateau Haut Brion in Pessac Leognan. They had recently purchased the St Emilion property Tertre Dugay, which they combined with L'Arrosee to form the renamed and re-branded Chateau Quintus.
Chateau L’Arrosee has 9.5 hectare St. Emilion vineyard planted with 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, with vines of an average age of 35 years. The wine is aged in 100% new, French oak barrels for 12 to 18 months with an average annual production of close to 3,500 cases a year.
This was rated 92 points Wine Spectator.
Dark ruby colored, medium bodied, red berry and black cherry fruits with notes of floral, earth, herbes de Provence, sweet tobacco leaf, smoke and dusty rose with a moderate lingering tannin finish.
RM 89 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=32904
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-visit-to-chateau-la-nerthe.html
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/restaurant-le-savoie-marqaux.html
