Long Shadows Cellars feature world class winemakers and Columbia Valley fruit

Long Shadows Cellars feature world class winemakers and Columbia Valley fruit

A major highlight of our Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour was a visit to the Long Shadows Wine Cellars tasting room. Long Shadows is an extraordinarily and unique concept in collaboration between world class distinguished wine makers and grape growers in the Washington Columbia Valley. 

Long Shadows was the creation of Allan Shoup, leader of Chateau St Michelle from 1983 to 2000. There he introduced Washington State grapes to winemakers from around the world in collaboration to produce quality wines. 

After retirement from Chateau St Michelle he founded Long Shadows to produce world class ultra-premium wines in Washington. He built a state of the art winery in Walla Walla and recruited a team of legendary producers to craft signature wines from the best vineyards' fruit from the Washington Columbia Valley. Three years into the new venture Long Shadows was awarded the Winery of the Year by Food and Wine Magazine. 

Shoup recruited a top winemaker with expertise and a track record producing best in class wine in each category or type of wine based on varietal grape. Marketed under the Vintners Collection, each of the Long Shadows labels in a testament to the legend of the winemaker for each label based on each varietal. The winemakers and their wine labels are:

Randy Dunn and Feather Cabernet Sauvignon - Randy has been producing Dunn Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon in the Napa Valley for three decades. 

Philip Melka and Augustin Huneeus - Noted for Napa Valley leading wine labels, they produce a Washington State Bordeaux Blend under the label Pirouette. 

Philip was named by Robert Parker as one of the Top Ten Winemaker Consultants in the World. He earned his handicraft at legendary Chateau Haut Brion and has consulted for notable Napa labels including Gemstone, Hundred Acre, Lail, Seavey, Vineyard 29, Bryant Family Vineyards, Caldwell, Cliff Lede, Dalla Valle, and with Augustin at his well known Quintessa.

 

This is the Syrah varietal member of collection and was crafted by legendary John Duval who was winemaker for Australia’s iconic Penfolds Grange for 16 years. John Duval came to Washington State's Columbia Valley in 2003 as the “sequel” to his life’s work with Syrah. 

Saggi is a Super Tuscan style blend produced by Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari, producers from one of Tuscany's leading wine families dating back to the 1700's. 

Pedestal Merlot is a Merlot produced by Michael Rolland, PhD and winemaker for or advisor to some of the world's most exclusive wineries across Bordeaux including top producers Clinet, l'Evangile, and Ausone in St Emilion and Pomerol.

Rolland's has been involved in notable projects outside of Bordeaux including some of the highly regarded Napa Valley wineries including Dalla Valle Vineyards, Jericho Canyon Vineyard, Harlan Estate, Staglin Family Vineyard, and Bryant Estate. 

Lastly, Chester Kidder, a new world blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and other Bordeaux varietals. Named after Allan Shoup's grandparents, Charles Chester and Maggie Kidder, this wine is crafted by Long Shadow's director of winemaking Gilles Nicault. Gilles is also the winemaker for the Den Hoed wine label that we tasted during this trip with one of our culinary gourmet meals.

We've known the Long Shadows brand and have collected the Pirouette and Feather labels since the earliest vintages. We're long time fans of both Randy Dunn and Phillip Melka, producer of those labels. We hold more than a dozen vintages of Randy Dunn's Napa Valley and Howell Mountain Cabernets dating back to the early 1980's. We hold nearly a dozen vintages of Philip Melka wines marketed under numerous labels. 

The tasting at Long Shadows of the most recent releases prompted us to join their highest participating level club to ensure allocation of each vintage of each of these labels going forward. 

Long Shadows Vintners Collection

Julia’s Dazzle Rose’ 2017

Long Shadows Wineries Riesling Poet's Leap 2017

Pedestal Columbia Valley Merlot 2015 by Michel Rolland
Blended w/ Cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot

Feather Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 by Randy Dunn

Pirouette Bordeaux Blend 2015 by Augustin Hunneeus, Sr and Philippe Melka
Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 21%, Petit Verdot 11%, Malbec 3%

Chester Kidder Columbia Valley Red Wine Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 by Gilles Nicault
Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot

Sequel Columbia Valley Syrah 2015 By John Duvall, renowned winemaker for Penfolds Grange

More to follow ... 

Canlis Restaurant Seattle Extraordinary Wine Dine Experience

Canlis Restaurant Seattle for Extraordinary Wine Dine Experience

One of the highlights of our Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour was our dinner at Canlis Restaurant in North Seattle in the Queen Anne district overlooking upper Lake Union. Our son Ryan was also in Seattle at the same time and he arranged our dinner at Canlis.

Canlis is a family owned and operated restaurant run by second generation Mark Canlis, his wife Anne Marie, and brother Brian. Growing up  in a restaurant family, he joined Canlis in 2003, after graduating from Cornell University and serving as a Captain in Air Force Special Operations. He and Anne Marie met while opening famed restaurateur Danny Meyer’s fifth restaurant, Blue Smoke, in Manhattan. Mark returning to Seattle to take over the family business that is Canlis. He and Anne Marie reside on Queen Anne with their three children. More on our visit and study of the historic district and its Prairie Style and other architecture to come.

Speaking of architecture, Canlis is as much about the atmosphere and the experience as it is the food, wine and service. The restaurant is an architectural landmark in a special setting with a special view overlooking upper Lake Union. Its a masterpiece and there's not a bad seat in the house.

The Canlis website tells the story this way: "This is the story of building a restaurant from scratch, in a location “way outside of town” for a city that would “never appreciate fine dining.” It is the story of our great grandparents risking everything, our grandparents doing the same, and then watching our mom and dad do it again. It is a legacy rich with tradition, but not like you might think. Here, we’ve made a habit of breaking our own traditions for the sake of someone else’s. Canlis is something more: the recognition that the story that matters most is your own."

So, how fitting it was that our Canlis dinner was a mini family affair as wife Linda and son Ryan
joined me at this legendary family restaurant. Moreover, a subplot to the story, our niece Anna Long, married last fall into the Van Hoed family, farmers, wine growers, viticulturists and winemakers from the famed Walula Vineyards in the

Canlis Lake Union night view

Columbia River wine region. One of our goals for the week was to taste Den Hoed wine, which conveniently was available on the Canlis winelist. Our bottle of Andreas, the Den Hoed flagship was a highlight of our Canlis dining experience, and our Washington Wine experience.

Speaking of the Canlis winelist, it has had a twenty-one consecutive Wine Spectator Magazine Grand Awards dating back to 1997, only one of a handful in the world to be so honored for that length of time. During that time, Canlis has helped train four Master Sommeliers and nine advanced sommeliers, an extraordinary achievement. They have also collaborated to produce wines with world renowned producers Alois Kracher, Buty, Jean Milan, Hirsch, and Guiborat & Fils.

The Canlis menu offers a choice of hour course selections in a price fixe format.

Our opening wine selection

We started with the Canlis Salad, a signature dish featuring great grandmother’s recipe, with bacon, mint, and lemon.

My second course was the Haiga Rice, simmered in a brown butter dashi with dungeness crab, preserved strawberries, and hazelnuts. This was delicious. Ryan had the the Soured Corn Strascinati with burnt wheat, basil, and goat cheese. Linda had the Salmon, glazed in caramelized onion juice and grilled with fava beans and gari (shown below).

For the third and 'main' course, Linda had the Smoked Carrots with onion jam, beans, and celeriac. Ryan and I had the Ribeye Cote De Boeuf with spring onions with a sauce of grilled brassicas and preserved berry vinegar. This was a perfect complement to the Cayuse and the Den Hoed.

For the finale we had a selection of the offerings:

Soufflè with orange Curaçao, crème anglaise, and warm madeleines
Après Soleil - Apple galette, mustard, and caramelized onion,
and the highlight of the three,
Blueberry Mille Feuille, Lemon curd ice cream, vanilla custard, and bee pollen

For our wine flight accompanying dinner we chose the following:

Bruno Paillard Champagne Rose' Premiere Cuvee
Cayuse Vineyards Walla Walla En Chamberlin Vineyard Syrah 2011
Den Hoed Andreas Wallula Vineyard Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Den Hoed Andreas Wallula Vineyard Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Named for the patriarch founder, Andreas Den Hoed married Marie Den Hoed in 1956 and they planted their first vineyard on their property that year. After two years in the Army Andreas returned to the farm. In the early years, they paid the bills growing mint. He continued to plant more vineyards as resources allowed expanding acreage almost every year. In 1988, their two of his sons Bill and Andy joined the business as partners in a new project, with acreage planted to vineyards. Their sister is the mother-in-law of our niece Anna.

Interesting, Anna is a Long, not to be confused with the Long Shadows wines affiliated with the Den Hoed grape growing and wine making collaboration. Both she and her husband Nick are offspring grandfather's who were farmers and have uncles who continue to tend the family land.

The father and sons team continued to expand in the Yakima Valley for the next 5-6 years. After several years of searching, in 1997, they purchased a 550 acre parcel of land bordering the Columbia River in the Wallula Gap. Since then the vineyard has earned a reputation as one of the finest in the region. It is sited in a picturesque growing location nestled high above the mighty Columbia River south of of the town of Kennewick. The wines produced from this vineyard have proven to stand the test of time and can stand up and hold their own against the best wines of the new world. The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Andreas became the namesake and flagship wine of Andreas Den Hoed.

The 2012 vintage of Den Hoed was crafted by winemaker Gilles Nicault of legendary Long Shadows. We visited the Long Shadows tasting room and report on that in a parrallel blogspot.

Being our first tasting experience of Den Hoed wine, and being priced below the median on the extensive Canlis winelist, we were dubious yet had high expectations. The Andreas met our most lofty hopes and expectations and was a highlight of our extraordinary meal.

This was crafted by collaborative winemaker Gilles Nicault (from Long Shadows) 168 cases were produced of the 2012 Andreas , 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 30 months in 90% new French Oak. 

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, it was rich concentrated intense, yet nicely balanced, smooth polished and elegant, bright vibrant sweet ripe dark berry fruits with prunes accented by a layer of sweet mocha chocolate and notes of graphite, dusty leather, herbs and sweet oak on a long silky sinewy tannin laced finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2328243

The Den Hoed grower's description of the Wulula Vineyard and what makes it special. "Considered by some to be the best vineyard site in Washington state, Wallula Vineyard is a picturesque growing location nestled high above the mighty Columbia River south of Kennewick. The vineyard is planted on south-facing slopes which vary from 2% up to 30% grade and its perimeter totals 9 miles of varied terrain.  Of this perimeter, the shore of the Columbia River provides nearly 3.5 miles of waterfront. From the river's edge at 320 feet above sea level, the property climbs a distance of nearly 3.5 miles to its peak elevation of 1367 feet. The lower elevations of the property provide ideal growing conditions for ultra-premium reds while conditions at the upper elevations allow for high quality whites to be grown. The river is of utmost importance as the water acts as a massive insulator where during the day heat accumulates quickly and at night it provides a cooling effect once the sun goes down."

We look forward to acquiring more Den Hoed wines and visiting the property in the Columbia Valley. 

http://www.denhoedwines.com/

https://canlis.com/

Our plates:

 Haiga Rice, simmered in a brown butter dashi with dungeness crab

 Salmon, glazed in caramelized onion juice and grilled with fava beans and gari

 Ribeye Cote De Boeuf with spring onions with a sauce of grilled brassicas

Blueberry Mille Feuille, Lemon curd ice cream, vanilla custard, and bee pollen

 Après Soleil - Apple galette, mustard, and caramelized onion

Canlis nightview to northeast ...

More to come ... 

RN74 Chef's Tasting Dinner and Wine Pairing

RN74 Chef's Tasting Dinner and Wine Pairing

We visited Seattle for a Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour. On our first night, we dined at RN74 Modern French Bistro where we chose the five course pric fixe Chef's Tasting Menu with Wine Pairings. RN74 offers two wine pairing flights, a premier flight and a premium 'grande' selection. We chose both so we could sample two flights of wines against the food courses.

RN74 -Wine - No-Wine

RN74 Seattle features global interpretations of American and French cuisine with an extensive wine list highlighting the Burgundy region of France, along with boutique wine producers from Washington and Oregon. Locally-sourced, seasonal highlights include house-aged steaks, vegetables from local organic farms and pristine Puget Sound seafood.

RN74 offers an impressive extraordinary 89 page wine list that is wide and deep with international selections from all major regions.  The list offered a broad selection of Washington and Oregon wines but was equally impressive in Bordeaux, Burgundy, California and beyond. There's also a extraordinary selection of half bottles and large format bottles. The Burgundy selection was the most extensive I've ever seen with the widest selection from each appellation, many top producers and a deep vertical collection across vintages.

RN74 Somm Table - tending to each selection

RN74 is one of thirty restaurants run by San Francisco-based Mina Group, a restaurant management company specializing in creating and operating upscale, innovative restaurant concepts, led by Founder and award-winning Chef Michael Mina, operating since 2003. Mina Group restaurants are in many major metros and destination cities from California to Florida and WDC including Chicago, Scottsdale, Boston, Hawaii and internationally in Dubai.

Renowned Chef Michael Mina sets the standards for creative food dishes and service delivery for an extraordinary culinary experience. I admit I have never heard of the group or their restaurants but was sufficiently impressed that I'll seek them out with every opportunity. 

For our wine pairings, I believe the differential between the premium and the more expensive grande selections were negligible. In fact for the first three courses, we preferred the more modest selection. Only with the last flight was the Sauterne a resounding upgrade from the second wine. All but the most discriminating might be well served to follow the more economical route. Of course, best is to try both and compare!

The Chef;s Tasting Menu with wine pairings:

RN74 Chef’s Tasting Menu

Chilled English Pea Veloute – Crispy Leeks, jamon de coppa, wild mushroom crème fraiche

Hiedler, Gruner Veltliner Loess, Kamptal, AT 2015
Domaine Pinson, Chardonnay, Chablis, Burgundy, FR 2016

                

Heirloom Tomato Salad – Crenshaw melon, French feta, watermelon gelee, grapefruit, basil

               Chateau Gassier, Grenache Blend Rose’, Cote du Provence, FR 2017
               Beckham Estate, Olivia’s Pinot Noir Rose’, Chehalem Mountains, OR 2017

Sweet Corn Agnolotti – smoked duck breast, puffed forbidden rice, parmesan-porcini brood

               Clusel Roch, Gamay, ‘Traboules’, Coteaux du Lyonais, Rhone, FR 2016
               Domaine de la Cote, Pinot Noir, ‘Estate’, Sta. Rita Hills, CA 2014

Grilled NY Strip – Japanese eggplant, smoked cauliflower, foraged mushrooms, cherry gelee

               WT Vintners, Syrah, ‘Destiny Ridge’, Horse Heaven Hills, WA 2015
               Domaine Lombard, Syrah, Brezeme, Northern Rhone Valley, FR 2014

Coconut Panna Cotta – Farmers market fruit, mango gelee’, raspberry sorbet

               Renardat-Fache, Cerdon de Bugey, Savoie, FR, 2016
               Chateau Roumieu-Lacoste, Sauternes, Bordeaux, FR 2015

              

 

 Our courses:

 

 Chilled English Pea Veloute – Crispy Leeks, jamon de coppa, wild mushroom crème fraiche

 

Heirloom Tomato Salad – Crenshaw melon, French feta, watermelon gelee, grapefruit, basil

           

Sweet Corn Agnolotti – smoked duck breast, puffed forbidden rice, parmesan-porcini brood

 

Grilled NY Strip – Japanese eggplant, smoked cauliflower, foraged mushrooms, cherry gelee

 

Coconut Panna Cotta – Farmers market fruit, mango gelee’, raspberry sorbet

Are those all mine?
Somm table upper right

Del Dotto Piazza Sangiovese at Angelis Italian Anniversary Dinner

Del Dotto Piazza Sangiovese BYOB at Angelis Italian Anniversary Dinner

We celebrated our anniversary with dinner at our local neighborhood trattoria, Angelis Italian. Deliberating on wine I select I considered Caymus Cabernet which I've written about in these pages, that shares the same anniversary year and started commemorating such in their new packaging a couple years ago.

I opted, instead for this Del Dotto Piazza Sangiovese in remembrance of our tasting experience there during our recent Napa Valley Wine Experience (2018), (shown right), which was the highlight of our trip, coupled with the fact our Caymus experience was one of the lowlights! Our server checked the wine on offer and determined it was the same vintage that drank last year at our anniversary dinner so we stayed with our BYOB choice. Had it been the most recent incremental release we would have chosen the latest #44 Caymus label.

Regretably, our dinner was not up to normal standards at Angelis casting a bit of a pall over the evening. Following my dinner at Italian Village
earlier this week, I was eager to try the Veal Marsala wine sauce as it was the highlight of that dinner and I was looking to compare and recapture that wine entree combination.

Firstly our server lost track of our orders and we got lost in the cadence of the courses. When our entrees finally arrived, my veal plate was completely void of sauce. The explanation was that it must have been absorbed by the pasta. I asked for a dish of accompanying sauce which arrived to reveal a thin watery broth instead of the rich gravy like sauce served by Italian Village (shown pictured as part of trio of medallions of veal including the Marsala and Piccata).

Worse, Linda's entree selection was also a disappointment, the Salmon with Avocado relish Special was completely overpowered being saturated with olive oil. Upon re-plating, pouring off the Olive Oil, the entree was much more enjoyable.

Despite it all, the Del Dotto Piazza Sangiovese was spectacular and was the highlight of the dinner.

Del Dotto Piazza Napa Valley Sangiovese 2015

We tasted and acquired this wine during our Del Dotto Estate Winery Cave Tour and Tasting last year. This prompted me to check my records which indicate we also tasted this in the 2106 vintage during our recent Del Dotto Piazza tasting at which we acquired that vintage as well.

This was dark garnet colored with a slight grayish hue that signaled caution but the wine was fine, we'll monitor the next bottle (s) with interest to see if this is an early warning of trouble ahead; medium full bodied, this was delicious with sweet ripe raspberry fruits accented by notes of vanilla and almond with supple smooth silky tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2579868

www.deldottovineyards.com/

Italian Village Chicago for Reliable Business Wine and Dine Experience

Italian Village Chicago for Reliable Business Wine and Dine Experience

For an important business partner dinner, we hosted dinner at our reliable go-to venue, Italian Village in Chicago. The Village has three different restaurants, each with its own kitchen and chef, each with its own ambiance and personality.

We dined in the 'Village' dining room upstairs at our regular table where our group selected six different entrees and all were excellent. We traversed a flight of three different Italian wines that perfectly complemented the courses of our dinner.

 Carpineto Poggio Sant' Enrico Toscana IGT Sangiovese 1999

At nineteen years of age, this is at the apex of its drinking window but not likely to improve with further cellaring, rather more likely to start to diminish from here forward. Great starting wine with our caprese and starters, dark, deep, blackish-ruby colored, full bodied with firm backbone of bold, intense black berry and ripe plum fruits, notes of black pepper, hints of smoke, leather and subtle vanilla with a long lingering supple tannin finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=101164
 

Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2012 

For the salad courses, this was slightly lighter and more approachable for pleasant drinking, especially for those less feint at heart for big robust wines. This was dark garnet colored, subdued fruits of black cherry and black berry fruits accented by earthiness and tones of tobacco and brown spices with moderate tannins on the well behaved finish.

RM 90

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2631507

 Paolo Scavino Barolo Monvigliero Nebbiolo 2008

This was an ideal finishing wine as it was quite expressive and vibrant. Bright dark garnet colored, full bodied, forward bright lively forward red berry fruits that jumped from the glass and excited the tongue, turning to full firm but manageable tannins with bright tangy acidity that projected the berry fruits on a long expressive full finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1315282

Normally, we'd meet and be attended to by good friend and Wine Director Jared Gelband who oversees the massive 15,000 bottle wine cellar that serves all three restaurants of Italian Village. Tonight he was consumed attending to a large party of forty in the Vivere wine dining restaurant to whom he served a selection of ten different wines (shown below).

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/