Intimate dinner Suzette’s Creperie French Bistro Wheaton

Intimate dinner at Suzette’s Creperie French Wine Bar, Bistro, Wheaton

We took dear friend Marlene out for her birthday celebration dinner to Suzette’s Creperie French Wine Bar and Bistro in adjacent Wheaton (Illinois).

We dined al fresco on their quaint patio last summer for a authentic french bistro dinner with a special BYO bottle and a special selection from their winelist. 

Suzette's Creperie, inspired by the Paris street vendors selling crepes, opened in 2000 in historic downtown Wheaton. Originally only seven tables and a counter, they quickly outgrew the space and expanded into the adjacent storefront to 17 tables, counter, bar and outdoor patio in the summer.

The adjacent Suzette's Boulangerie & Patisserie offers authentic french inspired artisanal croissants and breads and sweets with coffee, espresso, latte and café au lait. 

The restaurant features a Wine Spectator Magazine Award of Excellence unique and carefully selected wine list of close to a hundred French wines from an inventory of nearly 600 bottles, as well as champagnes, sherries, French beer, French Ciders, Cognacs, Armagnacs and spirits, They offer wines in all price ranges from modest house W-B-T-G (wines by the glass) or bottles from basic to to super premium vintage first growths. 

Some of their interesting and premium winelist selections include:

• 2000 Vosne-Romanée, Michel Gros, Clos des Réas, 1er Cru, Monopole
• 2001 Echézeaux, Devillard, Domaine des Predix, Grand Cru
• 2003 Châteauneuf du Pape, Vieux Télégraphe
• 1999 Pauillac, Mouton Rothschild, 1er Cru
• 2003 Pauillac, Ponet Canet
• 2001 St. Julien, de Pichon Longueville
• 2000 St. Emilion, Château La Gaffelière
• vertical selection of a half dozen vintages of St. Emilion, Château St. George dating back to 1990.
  

When we dined there last summer, we took one special bottle BYOB and then ordered from the winelist a special select Chateau La Nerthe Clos de Beauvenir Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2009, which was one of the highlights of our visit to Chateauneuf-du-Pape was a tour and tasting at Chateau La Nerthe where we tasted this special limited release bottle Chateau La Nerthe Clos de Beauvenir.

Suzette's atmosphere is cozy and intimate with leisurely paced European Style service by an attentive staff for a relaxing enjoyable dining experience. 

The delightful atmosphere was amplified by holiday decorations of a Christmas tree, holiday bows and a table set with quaint table decorations included lighted snowglobes. This was especially appreciated for our festive holiday and celebration dinner as Linda had taken a friend to Naperville's Egg Harbor cafe earlier in the day for a similar outing and came away deeply disappointed by the complete lack of holiday recognition and a unsympathetic uncaring response by staff responding to her comments.

The menu features small plates of Escargot Suzette’s Style, Three Cheese Soufflé, Fondue for Two, cheese plate and my choice, Pâté, all great accompaniments to a wine course. 

There is a soup and salad selection and the main course features their specialty selection of Crêpes, chicken, ham and cheese, vegetable, salmon, spinach and my choice, Beef Bourguignon.

They also typically offer a couple special entree selections from which we typically order. 

Tonight, Linda ordered the 'Special' crabcakes, while I passed on the Lamb Special for the traditional Crêpe Beef Bourguignon. Last summer, we feasted on their delectable Special Sole Meuniere.

Marlène & Nicolas Chevalier Les Voleyses Crozes Hermitage 2018

Never mind we were dining and celebrating birthday of friend Marlene, I chose this wine for the appellation, varietal and style to accompany my beef bourguignon, not for the producer's name, although its irony is part of the fun and enjoyment of/with wine!

Once part of the cave co-operative at Tain-Hermitage, since 2008 the family vineyards of Domaine Chevalier are gradually being reclaimed by the brother and sister team of Nicolas and Marlène Chevalier. Nicolas tends the vineyards and crafts each cuvee, while Marlène handles all of the sales and marketing for Domaine Chevalier.

Following his formal agricultural studies in France, Nicolas spent four years honing his winemaking skills on estates in Australia, California and South Africa. After completing studies in agronomy and enology in France, he headed to South Australia’s Clare Valley where he mastered various techniques for fermenting Shiraz (Syrah). He then worked with Kendall Jackson in California crafting white winemaking skills. To further his post-graduate wine studies, he spent 2002 in South Africa working at legendary three-hundred-year-old Boschendal estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa, a winery renowned for its superb Syrah-based wines.

Marlène and Nicolas Chevalier farm three small vineyards at their meticulously tended family property comprising 3 1/2 acres in Crozes-Hermitage from which they produce on average 500 cases of red and white Rhône wines in tiny lots which are highly allocated. Their wines are found only in a couple of importer direct wine clubs and renowned restaurants in North American.

Nicolas works with several distinct parcels for their wines: La Motte, Marius, Petite Pend, Les Pends and namesake source for this label, Les Voleyses. These vineyards have clay and limestone soils with excellent exposure, known to produce ripe, high quality grapes with great aromatic character and freshness. The Domaine Chevalier site has been producing grapes for notable wines gaining high praise and critical acclaim for more than three centuries.

The 2018 vintage was top rated in the Northern Rhône.

 

Importer notes: The 2018 Domaine Chevalier Les Voleyses Crozes-Hermitage sports a brilliant purple robe and a captivating aroma redolent with the scents of blackberry, plum, violets, and exotic spices. Sensuous and seductive in the mouth, the 2018 Les Voleyses graces the palate with a silky texture and pure floral, fruit, and forest floor flavors that have aptly been described as hedonism in a glass. Moreover, the 2018 Domaine Chevalier Les Voleyses is juicy and harmonious to the finish, as it makes an exit with joyful panache.

 

The Voleyses Cuvée is 100% Syrah made from younger vine fruit and aged in stainless steel.

Deep inky purple colored medium-full bodied, full round layers of blackberry and plum fruits, notes of black tea, spice and leather overtake the fruits, turning to soft chewy textured tannins on a medium finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3495672

http://suzettescreperie.com/index.html

French Wine Dinner Al Fresco at Suzettes Creperie Wheaton

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 were joined by son Alec and daughter-in-law Vivianna. This was a special outing, partially in light of our fond memories of our spectacular trip together to Provence and the Luberon region of France two years ago. One of the highlights of that trip was a visit to the Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine appellation. Suzette's wine list featured several wines from the estates we visited during that trip. 

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. 

Chateau La Nerthe Clos de Beauvenir Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2009

 
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 is a blend of Rhone varietals, 60% Roussanne and 40% Clairette.

 

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

This special bottle was a highlight to accompany the Sole Meunière entree and the appetizers: Spicy Coconut Shrimp with Red, Yellow & Poblano Peppers in a Creamy Coconut Sauce, Three Cheese Soufflé comprised of Bleu, Gruyère & Goat Cheese, and Shrimp Beignets.

 

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. 

Chateau L’Arrosee is named for an underground spring located on this Bordeaux estate in St. Emilion.

Founded back in 1868, L’Arrosee belonged to a member of the Council of Napoléon III, Pierre Magne who sold the estate to the French Ambassador to Austria. It was acquired by by the Dupuch family in the early part of the 20th century who produced the wines at the local cooperative until 1956. 

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

The cork separated in half upon extraction by the server using a traditional corkscrew. It was then strained and decanted.

www.domaineclarencedillon.com 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-visit-to-chateau-la-nerthe.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/restaurant-le-savoie-marqaux.html 

http://suzettescreperie.com/

Ivy Restaurant Wheaton Family Holiday Dinner

Gala Family Holiday Dinner at Ivy Restaurant Wheaton Features BYOB Clark-Claudon Estate Napa Cabernet

For our annual gala family holiday dinner, this year we dined at Ivy Restaurant in Wheaton. We arranged to dine at the balcony table overlooking the restaurant. Ivy, named for the ivy covered exterior walls overlooking the garden dining terrace, is housed in a historic building that was built as a chapel in 1928. The main dining room features stained glass windows and the commanding cathedral ceiling preserved from the original site.

The balcony setting afforded a wonderful view overlooking the restaurant, while providing ample room for our extended group including five grandchildren. It allowed a relaxed casual setting with room to roam for the small children without disturbing other diners.

We ordered the rib-eye steaks, filet medallions, the Chilean Sea Bass special, the Maryland Crab Cakes, the Filet of Beef, and the Filet and Shrimp entrees. The grand-kids were accommodated with appropriate choices from the kids menu.

For the appetizer course, we had the mussels and the coconut shrimp with Piper Heidsieck Brut NV (non-vintage) Champagne from the wine-list.

Ivy's corkage policy accommodated us to bring this BYOB selection from our cellar, Clark-Claudon Estate Napa Cabernet 2000. We met and dined with Clark-Claudon proprietors Tom and Laurie during our Napa Wine Experience winemaker dinners back in 1999. For a family dinner, I felt it appropriate to open a wine from family owned and oriented wine producer.

Since then, we have acquired and still hold thirteen vintages of this Estate Cab in our cellar dating back to the 1994 inaugural release, according to our Cellartracker records. We hold several vintages in magnum including this 2000.


 Clark-Claudon Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

This was a perfect accompaniment to our beef entrees and was probably at the peak of its drinking window, not likely to improve further with age, and ready to drink in its prime. Being a magnum, this likely had aged more gracefully and held its drinking window better or longer than perhaps standard size bottles. We hold several more bottles of this vintage and I don't feel rushed to consume them any time soon.

Dark garnet/purple colored, medium-full bodied, full, complex concentrated forward black berry and black raspberry and currant fruits are accented by a layer of spice, toasty oak, tones of cedar and sweet vanilla with nicely balanced acidity and smooth tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=436560

https://www.clarkclaudon.com/

http://piper-heidsieck.com/en/

http://www.ivyofwheaton.com/ 

Kathryn Hall Sacrashe Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

Kathryn Hall Sacrashe Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 for Ivy Wheaton Christmas/Birthday Dinner

For our annual dinner outing taking friend Marlene U out to celebrate her birthday and the Christmas season, we dined at Ivy Restaurant in Wheaton, IL. We took BYOB this Kathryn Hall Sacrashe Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a perfect complement to my Rib-eye steak, Linda's petit filet, and Marlene's BBQ ribs. Kathy served us and provided attentive friendly service.

We dined in the side-room overlooking the courtyard (shown below) which was a picture postcard with the heavy falling snow. While its not as picturesque as the main dining room, which is actually the sanctuary of a historic church (shown left), complete with stain glass windows, it's more intimate and quieter, as the sanctuary main dining room tends to be rather noisy, even bordering on boisterous.

For the second time in a row, my Ivy steak entree was laced with Rosemary which I do not favor. Otherwise, our dinners were delightful.

A really cool and interesting part of the Ivy dining experience was their illuminated menus - a great feature in a darkened restaurant. See their illumination in the lower center of the picture above.

Kathryn Hall Napa Valley Sacrashe Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

This single vineyard designated wine predates the Kathryn label becoming the signature flagship of the Hall brand. This label's demise can perhaps be explained by their expansion to a broad portfolio of labels, many small production boutique or individual labels,  extending the Sacrashe Vineyard fruit more broadly across the brand line-up. The Sacrashe Vineyard (shown right) sits just above the Winery on the estate which lies near the Napa Auberge du Soleil Relaix a Chateau Resort.

We visited the Hall Rutherford estate winery with its magnificent caves art gallery, cellar and tasting room (shown left) during our Napa Wine Experience in 2013.

Its time to drink up this vintage label as its showing it age, revealing its true profile and character, but still drinking nicely. Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, the black cherry and black berry fruits are starting to give way to black olive, leather, tobacco leaf and hints of tar and anise, with smooth soft tannins. This is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=610687

http://www.hallwines.com/

http://www.ivyofwheaton.com/

Vin Chicago Rombauer Wine Dinner at Adelle's Wheaton

Vin Chicago Hosts Rombauer Vineyards Wine Dinner at Adelle's Restaurant, Wheaton

Vin Chicago hosted a wine dinner at Adelle's Restaurant in nearby Wheaton, featuring Napa Valley Rombauer Vineyards' California Wines.

Six Rombauer wines complemented the five dinner courses crafted and presented by Adelle's Chef John Anderson and owner Debbie Fitzgerald Williams. On hand to present Rombauer wines was Clyde Gilbert, Rombauer National Sales Manager and Mike Baker and Kathleen from Vin Chicago, Naperville. Besides being manager of the Naperville store, Mike is also a lead buyer for Vin Chicago and is also an Advanced Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers.

We'll look forward to picking up our Rombauer order, and visiting Adelle's Restaurant again, especially on Corkage Fee free Tuesdays!

The dinner and wine paring flight:

Rombauer Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2015 

 Served with passed canapes, parmesan gougeres, chilled red bliss potatoes, creme fraiche, chives, accented by caviar, and honeydew melon ball skewer. See comments of the tasting course pairing with the Chardonnay below. I wonder if the pairing detracted from the tasting score.

This is the second release of a Rombauer Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Their 2014 inaugural release was their first new nationally-released white wine from Rombauer since they launched their Chardonnay in 1982, and the first new varietal introduced since their Zinfandel in 1990.

They spent five years seeking out top-quality Sauvignon Blanc vineyards across Napa Valley to source the fruit for this label and they kept production low in the 2014 release to ensure they would meet their quality standards. 

Based on the success and response to the initial release, they increased production in this, their second vintage, 2015, to expand into select markets. Still, this Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc remains a limited release wine. This expands the Rombauer portfolio diversity and breadth for more choices in pairing foods with wine. 

Straw colored with a slight greenish hue, light-medium bodied, aromas and flavors of tropical fruits with hints of grapefruit citrus, pear and white nectarine with a subtle tones of what the winemaker calls fresh-cut grass, with somewhat flat acidic layer on the lingering finish.

RM 87 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2287301

Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay 2014  

Served as a complement to the seared U12 scallop, vanilla bean butter sauce, and mango-pineapple salsa. In retrospect, we felt the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc would've best been switched, with the bigger fuller Chardonnay being served with the more obtuse forward caviar above, and the Sauvignon Blanc with the more moderate subtle scallop course. In any event, the Chardonnay was one of the highlights of the flight. 

From the 2014 vintage, another ideal growing season with warm, dry conditions that resulted in excellent fruit quality that resulted in wine with rich flavors and a creamy texture for great QPR - quality price ratio in a quality Napa Chardonnay.

Butter colored, medium bodied, pleasant aromas and rich bright flavors of citrus with tones of pear and creamy vanilla, with hints of mango, melon, spice and butter with nice acidity on the tangy finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2162560

Rombauer Vineyards Carneros Merlot 2012

Served with seared pork tenderloin medallion, sweet potato mash, and cherry-herb demi-glace. The sweet potato was especially nice against the Merlot.

This Rombauer Vineyards Merlot has been produced since 1983. The Merlot fruit is sourced from Rombauer estate and select partner growers' vineyards in the Carneros region, at the top of San Francisco Bay where the Napa and Sonoma Valleys meet, at the bottom of the Mayacamas Range that separates and helps form the two. 

The Carneros Appellation has a cooler climate, moderated by the gentle breezes and fog that creep in off the bay. The area is more known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay than Bordeaux varietals such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Blends of these wines indicate their profile and relative relative positioning as Merlot is used to soften the firmer tighter Cabernet Sauvignon, while Cabernet is used to provide a bit of backbone and structure to the softer Merlot. Petit Verdot is generally used to provide color and structure to both.

Dark ruby colored, medium bodied, complex, moderate soft tones of black raspberry, plum and cherry fruits with subdued tones of tobacco, floral, oak and spice turning to a smooth polished tannins on the finish. 

Blend of 92% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot, aged 16 months in French oak barrels.

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1944166

Rombauer Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Served with grilled hangar steak, red peppercorn-shallot maitre d’Hotel butter, oven roasted beets, and herb demi-glace. The peppercorns were a bit much for my preference as I feel they detract from the wine experience. Never-the-less a fine complement to the the flagship Rombauer labels, this Cabernet a consistent achiever with reasonable QPR - quality price ratio for Napa Cabernets.

Representing the ideal 2013 vintage where all boats rise with the tide - a near perfect growing season that should prove to be one of Napa's best in many years. 

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, complex but nicely balanced, flavorful pleasant drinking black berry, black cherry fruit flavors highlighted by tones of cassis, mocha, vanilla and toasty oak on a smooth tannin finish. 

RM 90 points. 

89 rating from Wine Spectator

Blend of 87.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 3.5% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Merlot aged seventeen months in 70% new oak.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2188112

Rombauer "Diamond Selection" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 

Served side by side the Cabernet with the grilled hangar steak, red peppercorn-shallot maitre d’Hotel butter, oven roasted beets, herb demi-glace.

This Diamond Selection is the Rombauer flagship signature reserve label featuring the select best representation of the finest lots from the harvest. This reserve bottling has been produced since the 1994 vintage, sourced from estate and top grower vineyards from the Stags Leap, Calistoga, Atlas Peak, St. Helena and Howell Mountain appellations (AVAs). 

This showcases the best from the near-perfect 2012 vintage with its long, warm growing season with consistent moderate temperatures that produced high-quality fruit that made for soft, rich wines with well-developed flavors. 

Dark purple garnet colored, medium bodied, elegantly balanced, smooth polished wine, aromas and flavors of black fruits - nicely integrated blackberry, black currant and black cherry fruits accented by subtle tones of mocha, tea, sweet oak and spice turning to smooth polished silky tannins on the lingering finish.
 

RM 91 points. This was the consensus favorite of our table.
 

Blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot, aged 18 months in 100% new French oak.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2196444 

Rombauer California Zinfandel 2014

Served with el Cotijo Spanish Manchego, Don Juan Drunken Goat, Entrepinares Cured Iberico, house smoked thyme dusted walnuts, and dark fruit compote. A pleasant tasty finish course, but the sweetness of the Zinfandel screamed for dark mocha chocolate! 

As noted above, the ideal 2014 vintage growing season with warm, dry conditions resulted in excellent quality fruits.

Note its called a California Zinfandel, as opposed to Napa Valley or Sonoma or Amador County; that's because rather than being from one or more appellations within one region, this Zinfandel release is a blend from lots from select vineyards from several of the top growing regions known for Zinfandel: El Dorado (39%), Amador (35%), Lake (16%) and Napa (10%) counties. 

Dark purple ruby colored, medium full bodied, full forward complex concentrated black berry bramble fruits - sweet black berry and black raspberry with tones of mocha, anise, vanilla and spice with hints of pepper on the smooth chewy tannin lingering finish.

Right up there with the Chardonnay as one of the highlights of the evening,  it was actually too sweet for the rest of our group, but for me, this was delicious and cries for barbecue or dark chocolate.

I can't believe we've overlooked this label. This, or wine like it, should be a staple in every cellar for such pairing occasions! 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2346927

http://www.rombauer.com/

http://vinchicago.com/

http://adelles.com/

Vin Chicago Adelle's Wine Dinner   -
https://vinchicago.com/blog/entry/rombauer-wine-dinner-in-wheaton

 

Ivy Restaurant - Wheaton, Illinois - Wine & Dine Experience

Ivy Restaurant - Wheaton, Illinois - Wine & Dine Experience

We've been wanting to dine in this location for many years in light of its unique setting in a historic building originally built as a chapel complete with stained glass windows and cathedral ceiling. Several different restaurants have come and gone at this site despite its prime location in the center of trendy downtown Wheaton, Illinois.

There is some irony that the Ivy Restaurant website homepage prominently features Martini Night given that Wheaton was a 'dry' town for so many years. They also offer a half-price wine night on Tuesday's which is always a worthwhile endeavor and practice worth supporting.


While they feature their dinner and dessert menus, I could not find a wine list on their website so I called to inquire about their corkage policy which is $20 per bottle. Alas, having selected a favorite entree, Gorgonzola encrusted New York strip steak, I set upon the wine cellar for a fitting pairing. We also invited friends Mark & Shirley to join us and knowing Shirley loves Cabernet Franc the stage was set for a cab franc stand-off showcasing a vintage favorite aside a premier new discovery offering from our recent Napa Valley wine experience.

My cellar search discovered two bottles remaining from a case of Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Franc 1997, and an as yet untouched case just received and racked last week of Constant Diamond Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2007.

I advised the server we were doing a wine tasting pairing and inquired further about the featured selections. Per the menu, the steak was accompanied by Ivy House Potatoes. Advised that they were roasted in garlic I opted for the Ivy Whipped Potatoes. Mark ordered a Special du jour Braised Veal Shank served with roasted potatoes, fresh seasonal vegetables. Both ladies ordered the special feature du jour Sea Bass with cous cous.

For starters we ordered the Chorizo Stuffed Dates - wrapped with applewood bacon, baby arugula with smoked tomato sauce, Almond Encrusted Brie, and Prince Edward Island Mussels sauteed with shallots, garlic, bacon, cream, fresh thyme in a white wine broth served with toast points.

Since I was focused on the wine tasting/pairing, I avoided the mussels sauteed in garlic. The brie cheese on the toast points was a nice but uninspiring accompaniment. The others cited the mussels as being less than stellar appearing to be not as fresh as they might be.

The stuffed dates were very tasty and a perfect accompaniment to the wines - especially the bright, vibrant 2007 Constant -so much so we ordered a second round. The dates were very tasty despite the fact the smoked tomato sauce added nothing, in my mind at least.

The anticipation of the wine/entree pairings was heightened. The New York strip arrived smothered with a crusted Gorgonzola which normally I love. Unfortunately, it was so laced with Thyme, there was no sense of the Gorgonzola whatsoever, let alone the beef. I am not a fan of Thyme, which normally I would associate with poultry and Thanksgiving turkey dressing. The affect on the beef was very unappealing. Worse, the whipped potatoes were laced with garlic. By this point any hope of a comparison tasting of the Cabernet Francs was lost.

The Sea Bass was also a bit disappointing, being less than stellar fresh, and the cous cous appeared to look more like risotto. Unfortunately, the dinners were also loaded with salt so as to take away from the tasting experience. We couldn't get enough water.

The saving grace of the evening, beside the stuffed dates, was Mark's entree the braised veal shank which he enjoyed very much.

We finished with the creme brulee which was very good.

The restaurant wine-list was basically American, appeared to predominate with California complete with a range of offerings up to Silver Oak Alexander Valley at $128 and Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet at $150 - no vintages listed.  Had it been listed on-line, I would have planned accordingly as there appeared to be one or two selections I would have explored. I appreciate and was grateful for their fair and appropriate corkage policy - indeed, it provided the basis for our visit.

Napa Valley Cabernet Franc tasting -
Constant Diamond Mountain 2007, Del Dotto Napa Valley 1997

Our wine tasting/comparison was outstanding, up to the point of being overpowered by the smothering spice, garlic and salt. The Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Franc 1997 was opaque garnet colored, medium bodied and opened with a earthy leather revealing its age, turning to black cherry, spice and a hint of tobacco (RM 90, WS 91 points). The Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Franc 2007 was inky dark purple color, full bodied, dense and concentrated with complex forward, chewy black berry fruits, spice, with long lingering silky tannins (RM 93-94, RP 93-94 points).

We visited Constant Vineyard and Winery just last month during our Diamond Mountain Wine Experience as featured on this blog. Del Dotto are long favorites as were featured during our Napa Valley Wine Experiences several times in 1998, 1999, and 2003 as showcased on our featured producers on www.unwindwine.com.

The restaurant is very picturesque with a very nice setting including an outdoor seating area adjoining the ivy colored building - hence the restaurant name. The ambiance upon entry is a bit confusing as the elegance is a bit undermined by the sports-bar feel with the big screens featuring sports in the bar adjacent to the entry.

We were seated promptly, reasonable to expect for a 6:30 seating with reservations. There is a stylish side dining room surrounded by windows and accessed  through french doors off the main dining room. The main dining room has the high cathedral ceilings with a surrounding second floor balcony overlooking the main floor. At the head of the room is a large massive stone fireplace. Seating is tight with three columns of tables down the center and sides of the 'sanctuary', one sidewall having window views to an adjoining courtyard, the opposite side against a bench seat under an alcove looking out into the main hall.

The service was attentive and friendly albeit lacking in detail to properly describe the nature of the food preparations given our stated sensitivity to wine suitable. Moreover, the menu descriptions failed to mention the spices and garlic which might have been acceptable had they not been so predominate (overwhelming). Upon our frank expression of dissatisfaction, the chef did come out and discuss our concerns, defending the preparation and noting its popularity and lack of previous complaints. I can't imagine other diner's finding this preparation acceptable. We offered up our oft-visited Angeli's Restaurant in Naperville as a splendid example of fabulous Gorgonzola feature entree's. We should've also mentioned Angeli's superb mussels offering as well as it is also spectacular and superior to the Ivy Restaurant feature.We were offered the entree be removed from the bill but believe this did not happen given its hard to imagine how the bill could be $250 (plus the $50 tip).

All in all our experience was disappointing and regrettably we will not likely return soon to or recommend Ivy Restaurant in Wheaton. 

http://www.ivyofwheaton.com/
120 N Hale St
Wheaton, IL 60187-5113
(630) 665-2489