Siduri Pinot Noir at Catch 35 Naperville

Siduri Pinot Noir at Catch 35 Naperville     

Finishing a successful real estate closing, we had a mini-celebration dinner at Catch-35, the local Naperville location of this seafood eatery, not to be confused with their downtown Chicago locale. 

We selected this restaurant despite the tremendous seafood entree at nearby La Sorella the week before last. We feel a bit duty bound to support this establishment as it seems to be lacking a bit in support and we would hate to lose it as a fine dining option in our community. They have another sister restaurant in the city downtown Chicago. 

The vibe in the restaurant is a bit benign, serene, bordering on comatose - a feeling perhaps exacerbated by the dim lighting and perhaps drap, somewhat dated decorating. I feel I am being overly harsh here but I don't know how else to describe it.  We joked that it has an 'old folks' vibe and indeed, it seemed to be an older clientele. 

In any event, the service was exemplary, professional, pleasant, knowledgeable and attentive. Admittedly, one of the drivers for us selecting Catch-35 on a Wednesday night was their half price offer on specified wines. Scouring the on-line winelist as we explored dining options, I found a suitable candidate for dinner worth exploring, and a great value in light of the special offering.  

Once on-site and seated, we ordered the wine featured on their on-line web winelist, and lo and behold, it was no longer available. This is precisely why I typically, often, ask two questions of our server when dining in a restaurant with a winelist; 1) do you have all the wines featured on the winelist? and 2) are there any other wines on offer not shown on the wine list. Typically the answer is yes, and no. Occasionally, a server will qualify that certain labels are no longer available. Or, the server will check on the status of any potential new arrivals. Once in a while some great surprises are discovered! 

Tonight, we settled on an alternate, second choice wine selection. Our server was very apologetic and upon pressing the wine director, offered us a complimentary dessert, to make up for the shortcoming. A nice gesture and much appreciated. 

The wine selection was going to drive my entree choice and the redirection forced a change in my dinner plans as well. For our entrees, Linda selected the Charbroiled Oysters with house herb butter, parmesan cheese and charred lime.

 

 

I ordered the Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut with Spiced Asian Marinade and Cauliflower gratinee. From the description, I was concerned about the "spiced" marinade description to complement the white fish. I had the forsight to inquire, and as a result, I ordered a cup of the Buerre Blanc Sauce, the accompaniment to the other seafood entree, and asked that the Spiced Marinade be served on the side.

In the end, asking for the "Spiced Marinade sauce" be served on the side, and asking for a cup of the Buerre Blanc Sauce proved to be a saving grace for my dinner. Linda described the original sauce to that from Buffalo Wild Wings, more akin to Buffalo Chicken Wings sauce. The Beurre Blanc sauce was thick and a bit heavy, the consistency of tapioca, rather than a buttery white wine lemon sauce, that I imagine. In any event, it was a good prescient call.

Perhaps not a fair fight, but we couldn't help but keep comparing, and lamenting, the Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut to the extraordinary and delicious Halibut Ippoglosso al Limone* - sautéed halibut with lemon white wine sauce, capers and sautéed spinach, Linda had at neighboring La Sorrella restaurant a couple weeks earlier. 

The Catch 35 (N) winelist is somewhat limited and uninspiring, which made the lack of our desired selection even more frustrating and challenging. The few desirable bottles that I would otherwise normally select, we've already had during past visits to the restaurant. (A week later, the on-line wine listing is still incorrect and out of date, offering the bottle that is no longer available, and showing an older vintage three years earlier than the one actually served for our back-up bottle). 

Hence, for our wine pairing selection, we chose the Siduri Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir - one of a broad selection of labels from this producer. 

Once served, despite their whole wall wine cooler, the wine was served at restaurant room temperature, much warmer than desired - most certainly stored in the wine wall, rather than the wine cooler. We prefer our wines served at cellar temperature at least (58F), and ideally, several degrees cooler, slightly above refridgerator temp. Our server provided us a stone wine cooler to help 'chill' our wine.  

Catch 35-N (dining room) wine wall

Catch 35-N wine cooler

Siduri Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 2021 (not the 2018 as published and promoted)

Siduri is named for the Babylonian goddess of wine, homage to,and the result of the founders' Adam and Dianna Lee's mutual love of Pinot Noir, and a shared dream to make their own great wines. 

In pursuit of that dream Adam Lee and Dianna Novy left their native Texas and moved to the Sonoma County wine country and spent years working at small, family-owned wineries, using any and all free time learning everything they could about growing grapes and making wine.

Adam and Dianna founded Siduri Wines in 1994 starting with just four and a half barrels of Pinot Noir that first vintage. Today, production has grown to over 10,000 cases annually of Pinot Noir crafted by Winemaker, Matt Revelette. The portfolio offers over 20 single-vineyard and appellation expressions of Pinot Noir from West Coast vineyard sites stretching from Santa Barbara County, Santa Rita Hills and Santa Lucia Highlands AVAs., to the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, to Willamette Valley in Oregon. 

They source their grapes through long-term relationships with some of the West’s most sought-after growers and vineyards, and have arrangements to purchase the majority of their fruit by the acre rather than the ton.

Each Pinot Noir is crafted with the goal of reflecting the unique terroir of each particular vineyard. Siduri Wines and its sibling, Novy Family Wines have received the Wine Spectator's New York Wine Experience "Critics Choice" recognition a combined seven times since 2004.

Winemaker notes - "Siduri explores two exceptional areas within Santa Barbara County that are exceptionally well-suited for growing Pinot Noir - Santa Maria Valley and the Sta. Rita Hills. Pinot Noirs from the Santa Maria Valley provide "crunchy" fresh fruits that are laden with spice notes, while Pinot Noirs from the Sta. Rita Hills provide opulent red and black fruits that jump from the glass with tremendous energy. The marriage of these two distinctive growing areas provides a portrait of a beautiful place to grow cool-climate Pinot Noir. The 2021 vintage provided tremendous freshness and ample acidity - a vintage that will age beautifully.'

"Each vineyard section was vinified separately, with pumpovers being used on the Santa Maria Valley fruit and punch downs on the Sta. Rita Hills. The 2021 vintage provided tremendous freshness and ample acidity - a vintage that will age beautifully."

Garnet colored with a slight brownish hue, medium bodied, black plum, black cherry and black raspberry fruits are accented by notes of black tea, dusty rose, dried cranberry, spice, herbs and hints of anise on the dusty finish with medium acidity.

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4468328

https://www.siduri.com/wines/2021-santa-barbara-county-pinot-noir

For our gratis dessert I had the Flourless Chocolate Lava Cake - Chocolate hazelnut center - crème anglaise - raspberry sauce -crushed hazelnuts. This begged for more tangible raspberry sauce.

And Linda had for a revenue dessert, the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake - Toffee pieces – Crumbled dates - butter caramel sauce. This was especially delectable.

Both were highlights of the meal.

https://catch35.com/

Sullivan's Steakhouse Domaine Serene for celebration dinner

Sullivan's Steakhouse steaks and Domaine Serene for Anniversary Celebration Dinner

We went to Indianapolis and took Sister Pat and Bro-in-law Rodger to Sullivan's Steakhouse Indy to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Sullivan's prepared a table with a nice welcome/congratulations card complete on a small bed of rose petals on the table. They then took our photo and presented each couple with a commemorative photo in a nice card. 

Perhaps we're accustomed to 'big city' Chicago wine and dine experiences, or its a Sullivan's condition, considering their numerous fifteen locations across the country, including our hometown Naperville, but several things seemed a bit amiss for our diner. The dining experience begins with the front door of the venue being broken with a hand printed sign directing one to use the other door which still closed with a bang. The dining room felt a bit dated with seemingly old carpeting, decor and lighting - despite the artsy mural adorning the wall, reminiscent perhaps of a Archibald Motley painting from the Whitney in NYC or the 'Nightlife' painting that we enjoy from AIC (Art Institute Chicago), and the wine wall looking into the wine cellar/room. 

We scoured the well appointed comprehensive wine-list (not available on-line to preview or pre-select) but struggled with the fact that no vintages were shown. It seemed an bit of an arduous imposition to ask the server to check on the vintages of several considered labels. For lack of a Sommelier or Wine Steward, the waitstaff were woefully unfamiliar with the wines on offer. This exercise reduced our selection to three bottles versus a half dozen or more I would have preferred to consider. 

Never-the-less, in the end, we ordered from the winelist one of our favorite labels, an ultra-premium Pinot Noir from Oregon Willamette Valley. We first discovered this label dining at Smith & Wollensky, Chicago during a getaway weekend years ago. While being a non-significant expense at nearly $200, it was a better value at 2X retail price, as opposed to the near 3X price point of many of the wines. It is one of the few Pinots that we keep in our cellar collection.

Three of us ordered the price fixe special promotion "Sure Thing" menu of a soup or salad starter, and entree and a dessert. 

It's promotion -  "Sample the best of the best from the Sure Thing $49 Prix-Fixe menu. Choose from a 6 oz. Filet Mignon, Sliced New York Strip, or Broiled Salmon, plus the salad or side that catches your eye. Finish the night by sinking your spoon into a New York-Style Cheesecake, Key Lime Pie, or Bananas Foster Bread Pudding."

We had the Wedge Salad and the Shrimp & Lobster Bisque with Shrimp, Lobster, Sherry and Cream.

The dinner included a plate of fresh warm baked bread with whipped butter.

Additionally we ordered two sides to share, the creamed corn and creamed spinach, along with a starter of the Charbroiled Oysters with Cajun Butter, Parmesan and Lemon (four).

The starters - salad, bisque and our steaks, and Rodger's lamb chops and accompaniments were all appropriately prepared and presented with attentive and hospitable servers. 

Domine Serene Evenstad Reserve Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2015 

The Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir is Domaine Serene's flagship wine, hand selected from their best barrels each year to create a reserve wine that is consistent in both its superior quality and flavor profile. 

 

We've written often in these pages about this label, most recently in this blogpost - Domaine Serene "Evenstad Reserve" Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and grilled beefsteak -  https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2023/06/domaine-serene-evenstad-reserve.html. 

Producer Tasting Notes: "Never shy in the glass, the 2015 Evenstad Reserve radiates a blissful bouquet of boysenberry, marionberry, dark chocolate, and sage. In the mouth, its graceful texture enters with power and seduces every part of your palate - exposing wave upon wave of alluring flavors of dark fruits, mushroom, and cola. Its silky-smooth, velvet-like tannins, give way to a long, weighted finish that endures with unrivaled finesse and persistence. This is truly a compelling wine that illustrates two and a half decades of winemaking mastery in one of the finest places in the world to grow and produce Pinot Noir."

This release was rated 95 points International Wine Report and a seeming consensus 94 points by Wine Enthusiast (Editors Choice), and James Suckling, Wine Spectator and Vinous.

Domaine Serene "Evenstad Reserve" Willamette Valley Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2015 

At eight years, this is likely at the apex of its drinking window. From the restaurant winelist, the label was soiled and torn as shown.

Bright garnet colored with purple hues, expansive complex and concentrated yet nicely balanced, elegant and approachable with aromatic flavors of dark berries with notes of black raspberry, cherry liqueur, cola, cinnamon spice, vanilla, earth and espresso with velvety tannins on the long polished smooth finish.

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2714672

https://www.domaineserene.com/

https://www.sullivanssteakhouse.com/

https://twitter.com/SereneWine

Kistler Les Noisetiers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay at Emerils Coastal

Kistler Les Noisetiers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay at Emeril's Coastal Restaurant, Sandestin, Miramar Beach

Visiting the Florida Gulf shores for a getaway week, we had a delightful, delicious dinner at Emeril's Coastal Seafood restaurant in Sandestin Grand Boulevard in Miramar Beach.

For diiner, we shared the daily fresh seafood catch, whole pan seared Grouper, and for starters we had roasted oysters and the special cheese plate. 

The Emeril's Coastal Cheese Board consisted of  Four Artisanal Cheeses with accompaniments - home-made multi-berry jam, fresh honey comb, fresh berries, nuts and baguettes: 

• Thomasville Tomme French
  
• Humboldt Fog
• Talcggio
• Roque Smoked Blue
  
  
  

Fresh Oysters from Murder Point and Admiral, Alabama

The Fresh Catch of the day was pan seared whole Grouper with asparagus spears in a muniere sauce.

 

We selected from the winelist this ultra-premium Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.

 Kistler “Les Noisetiers” Chardonnay Sonoma Coast, California 2020

Kistler is a family-owned and operated winery founded in 1978 by Steve Kistler and the Kistler family. From the beginning it has been dedicated to the production of ultra-premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, using old-world Burgundian techniques applied to new world vineyards. 

Kistler wines are crafted from one heritage Californian selection of Chardonnay clone vines planted across fifteen vineyards, from Carneros to Sonoma Valley, to the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. Kistler's plantings on Sonoma Mountain are some of the oldest Chardonnay plantings in Sonoma County.

They have been working with and on this singular clone of Chardonnay since the mid 1980’s. It was originally sourced from vines imported from Burgundy in the early part of the 20th century. It have been developed by California farmers and winemakers over decades to be best suited to the Californian terroir and growing conditions.  

From the fifteen vineyard sites Kistler produce eleven different vineyard designated select Chardonnays.  

This cuvee is an appellation-focused wine designed to the regional character of western Sonoma County, highlighting mineral tones from vineyards with sandy soils. The wine was originally crafted exclusively for restaurants but is now available in retail stores on a limited basis. It has rich, complex smoky aromas, intense fruit flavors underpinned with toasty oak, and crisp acidity with a long, lingering finish.

This label, Les Noisetiers (pronounced Lay Nwaz-tee-yay) is a study of Kistler's Sonoma Coast sites. The name refers to the toasted hazelnut characters that is manifest year in and year out from these sites. This cuvee is an appellation-focused Chardonnay. explicitly produced to illustrate the site and area specific regional character of western Sonoma County highlighting inherent mineral tones from thirty year old vineyards with sandy Gold Ridge soils. The main sources are the Vine Hill Vineyard, Dutton Ranch and Trenton Roadhouse vineyards.

Golden straw colored, medium-full bodied, complex yet elegant, polished and balanced layers of juicy peach and pear fruits with hints of apricot and white flowers, turning to a mineral backbone with stone fruits on a long sumptuous finish. 

RM 93-94 points. 

 

Winemaker notes: The grapes are whole-cluster pressed into 30% new French oak for fermentation via indigenous yeast. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered after 10 months in barrel. From the winery: "Deep green-yellow. A pronounced and refined sense of minerality pierces through the initial first blush of stone fruit on the nose. Wet stone, powdered sea sand, and a slight sense of roasted grain. Perfectly balanced, the core is packed with grilled citrus, a touch of lemongrass and threaded with a vibrant acidity that reverberates across the palate. Possesses a lively, yet elegant finish that just doesn’t want to end.
 

After thoughtful selection at the sorting table, whole clusters are fed by hand directly into the press. An extremely gentle 2-hour Champagne program is used to produce the best juice with the finest solids. The juice is consolidated in tank and then, without cold settling, is transferred directly to barrel with its fine lees. Driven solely by naturally occurring yeasts, the wine is barrel-fermented. Kistler Chardonnay fermentation temperatures are warm by California standards, but very much like Burgundy was made 20 years ago. The wine is fermented bone-dry. After a complete malolactic fermentation, the wine sees 11 months of barrel age with no battonage. The wine spends an additional 3 months in tank before being bottled without fining or filtration. There is a smaller percentage of new oak used on the Les Noisetiers in order to highlight the soil-driven character of this wine. This minerality is rare in new world Chardonnay.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4265917

https://www.kistlervineyards.com/