Lunch at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park after FLW Tour

Lunch at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park after FLW Tour features delightful casual sipping WBTG pairing

College friends and Linda's sorority sister Sara and husband Chuck were in town to visit family and friends. We met up and arranged to host them on a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park where I am a docent interpreter. Afterwards we met two other sisters and their partners for lunch at Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park. 

Hemingway's Bistro is one of our favorite dinesites and one we love to combine my tour activities at the Frank Lloyd Wright home just blocks away with lunches or dinners for such occasions. We've featured some of those tour and dining outings in these pages' blogposts -

Hemingway's Bistro Wine Dinner Highlights FLW Architecture Tours

FLW Home & Studio Tour and Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park

Linda and I ordered the daily special fresh fish, Walleye served with crab cake crust, mashed potatoes and haricot verts. With our lunch, we ordered WBTG - wines by the glass, a Russian River Valley Chardonnay and Northern Rhône Crozes-Hermitage Sryah.

Before our entrees, I ordered for a starter course the Chicken Liver Pate'. As an accompaniment I had a glass of the Crozes-Hermitage. 

Paul Jaboulet Aîné "Les Jalets" Crozes-Hermitage 2017

Paul Jaboulet Aîné owns parcels of vines in several Rhône appellations both north and south, and produces an extensive range of both estate bottled and négociant wines. Paul Jaboulet Aîné is one of the most prolific producers in the Northern Rhône, notably in Hermitage and Crozes Hermitage. 

The earliest record of the Jaboulet family producing wine dates back to 1834, and the eventual house of Paul Jaboulet Aîné remained in Jaboulet family ownership until 2006. It was then sold to the Frey family, proprieters of Ch La Lagune in Bordeaux, and numerous other vineyards and labels.

Frey obtained the famous brand names such as Hermitage "La Chapelle" and Crozes Hermitage "Domaine de Thalabert", but not all of the vineyards historically used for producing those wines. Notably the vineyard used to produce Crozes Hermitage "Domaine de Thalabert" - a vineyard historically known as Les Grandes Vignes - was split, with part remaining under the control of Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet. Frey succeeded in restoring the reputation of Paul Jaboulet Aîné which had fallen away during the 1990s.

Domaine de Raymond Roure is a nine acre Crozes Hermitage vineyard high on the back of the Hermitage hill which Jaboulet acquired in 1996. The red now sells at a premium to Thalabert and is the wine for longer keeping.

Les Jalets is a modest priced casual sipper with good QPR - quality price ratio, from the Northern Rhône Crozes Hermitage AVA that produces distinctive earthy dark fruity Shiraz/Syrahs. 

Bright garnet colored, medium to full-bodied with lively expressive forward briery blackcurrant and red berry fruits accented by black pepper, licorice, spices and savory truffle notes with a tongue puckering tangy acidity on a moderate tannin laced finish. 

RM 89 points.

This was awarded 92 points by Decanter and commented by Jeb Dunnuck and Wine Advocate.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3495500

http://www.jaboulet.com/Website/site/fra_prehome.htm

With our entree course Linda and I both selected this lively Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley.

Lake Sonoma Winery Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2020 

Another modest priced good QPR selection served BTG from the winelist.
Lake Sonoma Winery produces a range of red and white wines from across the Sonoma County winegrowing region representing its diverse assemblages of terroirs and micro-climates.  This diversity is expressed through Sonoma’s sub-appellations, many of which are renowned for specific varietals that thrive in each. 

Lake Sonoma Winery work with the most celebrated of these sub-appellations to offer their portfolio of  wines designed that showcase the region’s unique characteristics and the varietal for which it has come to be known.

This moderate priced Chardonnay is sourced from Lake Sonoma estate vineyard in the Russian River Valley. 

Lake Sonoma Winery’s winemaker, Jaime “JJ” Dowell joined Lake Sonoma Winery in 2021 after spending time in New Zealand managing the production of a high-end Pinot Noir at Villa Maria Estate in Blenheim. 

The native Californian started out working as an Associate Winemaker alongside highly regarded Jean Hoefliger at Alpha Omega Winery in Napa Valley’s Rutherford AVA for five-years. She then took over winemaking duties at Round Pond Estate before moving to Lake Sonoma Winery on the other side of the Mayacamas Mountain range that separates Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

When she arrived this wine was still in barrel. The previous winemaker made the decisions on harvest and fermentation, and left it to her successor to blend the final bottled wine. JJ put her spin on things, and through the blending, the identity was crafted. 

Winemaker Notes: "This classic Chardonnay expresses the best of the Russian River Valley appellation through vibrant citrus and tropical fruit aromas with hints of vanilla.  Bright fruit flavors including kiwi, lime and nectarine round out the palate followed by a rich and lingering finish."

The wine was left on the lees for three months to enhance the mid-palate richness. Aged for 22 months in 20% new French oak, 50% neutral oak and 30% stainless steel tanks.

This was delightful and a perfect complement to the walleye fresh fish special. 

Straw colored, medium bodied, balanced and flavorful peach, and tangerine citrus fruit flavors with accents of lychee tropical fruit on a smooth elegant lingering finish. 

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4170830

https://lakesonomawinery.com/

http://hemmingways-bistro.com/

Previous lunch and dinner dining experiences at Hemingway's Bistro featured in these pages:

Roots Klee Pinot Noir Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park

Hemingway's Oak Park BYOB BTG Dinner

Hemingway's Bistro Wine Dinner Highlights FLW Architecture Tours

Château La Couspaude St Emilion Grand Cru Classé with Hemingway's Oak Park French Fare

Festive Holiday Dinner at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park

Anniversary Dinner at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park

Lunch at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park

Wine BTG with small plates at Hemingway's Oak Park

FLW Home & Studio Tour and Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park

Roots Klee Pinot Noir Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park

Roots Klee Pinot Noir and Cain Cuvee' at Hemingway's Authentic French Bistro in Oak Park

Located in the center of the historic district in Oak Park amidst historic architecture and homes of historic figures sits Hemingway's Bistro, an authentic French dining experience. A few doors away is Ernest Hemingway's home, across the street from the Ernest Hemingway Museum, and a couple blocks away is Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio (where I am a docent/interpreter). (See my Frank Lloyd Wright site dedicated to Wright and Prairie Style architecture.)

After a day holiday shopping in Chicago with Linda and our friend Kay Z, we stopped enroute home for a festive wine and small plates tasting experience. While we deviated from the French wine selections, the rest of the experience could have been from the Languedoc or Loire. Chef Christopher Ala has worked as the opening Executive Chef of the Historic Allerton Hotel in Chicago after their 80 million dollar renovation, has also run the Le Meriden Hotel and the memorable classic Chez Paul Restuarant in Chicago. We remember dining at Chez Paul back in the early eighties. Most will recall it from its classic lunch scene in the movie Ferris Bueler's Day Off (Abe Froman, Sausage King of Chicago!).

Our small plates (see below) consisted of Oysters on the half shell, Foie Gras, Pate, a cheese selection plate, followed of course by desserts - creme brulee. For the wine selection we chose a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir from Roots Vineyards. With desserts, our second wine was Cain Cuvee' Napa Valley NV9. Hemingway's wine list is primarily French and also American with over 60 selections by the bottles and 30 by the glass.

As I often write in this blog, it is easy to find a great Pinot Noir for $80. It is hard to to find a good, well priced Pinot for under $25, let alone under $20. A high QPR (Quality Price Ratio) Pinot Noir is one of the toughest varietals to find. Start with a producer who tends to over achieve with a value brand. Chris Berg,  from “five family vineyards” in the Willamette Valley brings us this respectable value priced offering with the stylish art inspired whimsical label.


Born is Racine, Wisconsin, raised in the midwest, Chris Berg moved when his family relocated to Oregon to start a business. In 1999, the Bergs planted seven acres of mostly Pinot Noir on the 20-acre property near Yamhill in the Yamhill-Carlton District of the Willamette Valley. Chuck and Dian Berg built a small house on the vineyard, and son Chris lived in Portland with his wife, Hilary. After Chuck and Dian moved to Arizona, Chris and Hilary took over the vineyards and winemaking duties.

The Roots name on the label is from the French word Racine taken from Chris' birthplace.

In 2002, the Bergs picked their first harvest of a mere three tons, which were made into 72 cases of Pinot Noir. Today, Roots produces approximately 3,800 cases annually. Wines include their flagship estate Pinot Noir, as well as eight single vineyard-designate Pinot Noirs, sourced mostly from neighboring vineyards in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Other wines include an estate Pinot Gris, Melon de Bourgogne, Viognier, Riesling, Dessert Riesling, Syrah and a methode champenoise sparkling, Theo, named after their son. All these wines are made in very small lots and handcrafted using indigenous yeasts.

In homage to one of Chris' favorite artists, Roots' second label, Klee (named after Paul Klee), makes up the largest portion of their case production with 2,000 cases made annually. The artwork is their own adaptation of a Klee painting. An art lover would recognize the artist Klee style artwork, the label is a clever rendition of a brilliant melange of color with a take-off of the Chesire Cat and a wine bottle.




Klee Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011

Ruby colored, medium bodied, classic in the style of  Roots with the soft core fruits of black cherry, cranberry and plum with accents of spice and a hint of earth. The fermentation is done with indigenous yeasts, and the wine sees 10 months in neutral oak.  This is a pleasant easy drinking Pinot that is a great value - a rare find indeed. Credit Hemingway's for finding and offering such a feature.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1524739

http://www.rootswine.com/

http://www.hemmingwaysbistro.com/

Cain Cuvee' NV9

Cain's Cuvée project began over 20 years ago as a multi-vintage, multi-varietal blend based primarily on Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The grapes are sourced from Rutherford, Oakville, Yountville, Spring Mountain, and Atlas Peak. Each vintage is a new, carefully made blend and many of the same rows of the same vineyards are included in each cuvée.

Cain Cuvee' NV 9

From winemaker Christopher Howell: "The facts will explain nothing. The NV09 is 53% Merlot (the balance being Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot), and it’s a blend of two vintages: 2009 (57%) and 2008 (43%). What sets the wine apart is how it tastes... This has everything I want in a red wine: smooth entry, mouth filling, sits gently and lightly on the palate, just enough mouthwatering tannins to cleanse the palate. Aromas of black cherries, red cherries, cigar box. Core of red fruit carries through from beginning to end. Nicely refined. Nothing sticks out."

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, complex, firm and a bit tight, black berry and black cherry fruits give way to cigar box and tea with moderate lingering tannins. May soften and open with a few more years in the cellar.

Merlot 53%, Cabernet Franc 26%, Cabernet Sauvignon 20% Petit Verdot 1%

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1570637

http://www.cainfive.com/

Hemingway's dining room

Foie gras with red pear

Pate' plate

Danielle preparing the cheese plate

Wine and cheese plate

Creme brulee

Hemingway's Oak Park BYOB BTG Dinner

Hemingway's Oak Park BYOB BTG Dinner

Culminating an event filled week with Valentine's Day, Linda's birthday and starting a new job, we celebrated with Saturday evening dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park, located in the Write Inn, a euro boutique hotel. Fittingly, Hemingway's was still decorated for Valentine's Day.

As I've written in these pages, I conduct tours as a docent interpreter at the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, so this is a convenient dining spot following my tours.

Tonight's special was Alaskan Halibut with a mango pepper relish, rice and asparagus (shown left) which we both opted for as our entrees.

We both started with one of our favorite dishes, and draws to Hemingways - I had the Foie Gras du jour and Linda has the Tuna Tartar with avocado, cucumber and spicy aioli. The Foie Gras alone was worth the trip, absolutely delicious served with puree' of parsnip and peaches.


For the occasion, I brought BYOB from our home cellar a California Cabernet Bordeaux blend from Cloud View Napa Valley Pritchard Hill. In the end it was great with the Foie Gras but too much for the Halibut entrees and we opted for BTG (by-the-glass) selections from the wine list, a Lake Sonoma Russian River Valley Sonoma Chardonnay, and a Lemelson Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Gris.

Hemingway's offers an authentic Provencal or Parisan dining experience in all respects. As always, everything was spectacular for an intimate, dining experience - food, services, atmosphere and ambiance.

Lemelson Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Gris 2015

Bright golden butter colored, light-medium bodied, tangy crisp acidic backbone, bright pear, peach, hints of apple and melon with notes of mineral and citrus. An ideal complement to the tuna tartar and the Alaskan Hailbut.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2369756

Lake Sonoma Winery Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2015

According to the producer, the Russian River Valley is ideal for Chardonnay due to its cool climate, from the regular infiltration of Pacific Coast fog that ebbs and flows through the Petaluma Wind Gap and up the Russian River, making the Russian River Valley one of the world’s most celebrated Chardonnay growing regions. This natural air-conditioning allows Chardonnay grapes to develop full flavor over an extended growing season while maintaining their life-giving natural acidity.  The result is a chardonnay of both character and depth.

We visited the Russian River Valley Sonoma County appellation during our wine region visit last summer.

I believe this producer sources grapes from numerous growers in the region producing a region or appellation specific, but not Estate (produced from grapes grown on the property).

This Chardonnay from Hemingway's BTG (by-the-glass) winelist was straw colored, medium bodied, with notes of citrus, hints of creme brulee, vanilla, and honey with moderate acidity and depth.

RM 88 points. 
 http://www.lakesonomawinery.com/

http://www.hemmingwaysbistro.com/

http://www.lemelsonvineyards.com/ 

Hemingway's Bistro Wine Dinner Highlights FLW Architecture Tours

Hemingway's Bistro Wine Dinner Highlights FLW Architecture Tours

Our 'pour boys' wine group toured the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio in Oak Park, followed by the neighborhood walking tour featuring iconic Wright homes. As a docent/interpreter for the FLW Trust, I arranged and presided over our group tour. Our custom tour focused on Wright's nearby 'bootleg' homes, the classic prairie style Heurtley House, the Nathan Moore and adjacent Hills House, the Beachy House, FLW's first complete prairie style home, the Frank Thomas House, and the Laura Gale House.

Afterwards we dined at Hemingway's Bistro Restaurant in the quaint Wright Inn, a few blocks away, near Hemingway's boyhood home, across the street from the Hemingway Museum. Their semi-private room in the back overlooking the restaurant provided the perfect comfortable intimate setting for our dinner group assemblage.

The Hemingway's Bistro French inspired cuisine provided an ideal accompaniment and setting for our BYOB French centric wine flight. The staff, lead by our server Aron, did a spectacular job attending to our group of twenty, serving dinner and accommodating the preparation and service of our wines, making for a wonderful delightful dinner evening. They set an adjacent table for showcasing and preparing our wines and provided fine wine glassware for reds, whites and champagne.

Our group has no less than five current period weddings to celebrate and we'll have two grandchildren born this year so there was much to toast and commemorate with our wines. To that end, our wine flight selections featured several notable vintage years with wines from 1970, 1976, 1981,1982, 1988, 1989, 1991 and notable wine vintages such as 2000. We also got a first look at some recent releases. Recent posts in these pages have highlighted our wine tastings at Bill and Beth's, and Dan's recent wedding celebrations.

The wines:

For a starter, I brought a magnum of Moët & Chandon Dom Perignon Champagne, 1976. Regretably, the cork of this bottle had failed recently and this bottle was corked.

From our cellar I sourced a vertical flight of Cos d' Estournal St Estephe Bordeaux for Eric & Cathy, Kay, and Linda and I to offer. George was amazed we were holding these wines this long. I stated that's the fun of special anniversary/birth year vintage bottles. Moreover, I explained how we learned over time that we drank many of our Bordeaux, especially from the eighties, too early! Look how these old Bordeaux held up and showed well, even those at ages supposedly past their drinking windows! Every one met or exceeded expectations.

Cos d' Estournal St Estephe Bordeaux 1981 - our daughter Erin's birth year who is expecting a child in the coming month. Deemed a modest vintage with moderate aging potential, this wine showed amazing resilience and showed well. Medium bodied, bright ruby colored, earthy leathery dark cherry and firm blackberry with hints of creosote on the tannic berry finish. Amazing life yet in this cellar selection. Recent tastings showing lot's of life left in the remaining 81's in large format. RM 89 points. https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=20282

Cos d' Estournal St Estephe Bordeaux 1988 - George and Leslie's daughter's birth year - whose wedding to Eric & Cathy's son Ross is next month. Last time I reviewed this wine I noted the disparity between the Parker (86) and WS (95) ratings. You decide! Once again, supposedly outside its drinking window, this showed well with little of no diminution from age. Medium bodied, bright ruby colored, classic Bordeaux floral perfume, blackberry, spice, tar, a moderate finish. Bigger and more firm than the others. RM 90 https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1767

Cos d' Estournal St Estephe Bordeaux 1989 - Bill and Beth's son Matt's birth year who is engaged and will wed in the coming year.

Cos d' Estournal St Estephe Bordeaux 1991 - Kay's daughter Becka's birth year - who is getting married next weekend. Like the '81, another modest vintage overachieved and surpassed expectations. While lacking the structure and backbone of some of the 'bigger' vintages this showed surprisingly bright lively fruit and was very enjoyable. Full floral nose with flavors of dark berry, black cherry, layers of earthy tobacco, hints of cassis and spice. There was still life in this, very much in its drinking window. RM 89 points. https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=135897

We also had a vertical flight of Brane Cantenac Margaux Bordeaux.

Brane Cantenac Margaux Bordeaux 1970 - brought by Ryan, graduation year for many of us. Another amazing showing for a wine incredibly 45 years old ... testament to the stamina and aging potential of quality Bordeaux, still holding vibrant fruit, amazing floral tones and no signs of serious diminution.
Brane Cantenac Margaux Bordeaux - 1982 - brought by Bill - commemorating son Will's and our son Ryan's birth year, and,
Brane Cantenac Margaux Bordeaux 2000 - a legendary Bordeaux vintage, brought by son Ryan. Two classic showings from two classic vintages, the '82 appearing much lighter than expected.

Bill also brought another 2000 Bordeaux, Chateau Haut Batailly Pauillac 2000.
Both 2000's showed their breadth and depth of fruit accented by classic Bordeaux floral, earthiness and tobacco leaf with muscular but approachable sinewy polished tannins.

Dan, Ernie and George each brought a red and a white including -

Le Secret des Georges Sabon Chateauneuf-du-Pape - 2011 - One of the highlights of the tasting, showing its big bold forward complex fruits, almost overpowering the sophisticated but comparatively more delicate Bordeaux's.


Château Vignot St. Émilion Grand Cru - 2007
George brought:
Jacques Puffeney Arbois Pinot Noir 2009
Marcassin Marcassin Vineyard Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2010 - Smooth, polished, rich, consensus accolades as one of the best Chardonnay tasting experience ever!

John brought:

In Florescense Blanc de Noir Brut Champagne and
Charles Smith Lawrence Vineyard Viognier 2011

Lyle brought two Napa Valley big reds that stood out with their bold expressiveness:
Schafer One Point Five Stag's Leap District Red Wine 2012
Nils Venge Senecleaux Napa Valley Red Wine 2013, just released and tasted for the first time. This was a huge hit. We're long time friends of Nils Venge and have much experience with his wines. We've collected several vintages of this label but this was our first tasting of such. A great showing with big forward berry fruits accented by sweet vanilla oak.


Apologies to anyone if I missed or mis-atributed any wine (s).

The food:

For starter courses when seated, Chef Ala prepared and served his Baked Brie in puffed pastry with almond and honey which was perfect with the starter champagne and white wines, and his chicken liver pate on toasted baguette. Several folks had the roasted beet salad while Dan and I feasted on the foie gras.

From the menu, many folks had Chef Ala's Saturday Night Special Beef Wellington. Dan had the Mixed Grill, I had the New York Strip au poivre with creamed spinach, George had the Prawns.  Many of the entree's featured Chef Ala's signature pommes au gratin.

After dinner several folks had the special Souffle, and others had the Creme Caramel, the Warm Apple Tart, and I had the decadent Mousse au Chocolate with raspberry coulis that was a chocoholic's delight.

New Year’s Eve Celebration Dinner

New Year’s Eve Celebration Dinner

Son Sean and Michelle and the daughters/grand-daughters treated us to New Year’s Eve dinner. We dined at one of our favorite eateries, Hemingway’s Bistro in Oak Park (IL). We’ve enjoyed and hosted many dinners at Hemingway’s including our Pour Boys wine group, family and anniversary celebrations. 

Hemingway’s was booked for the entire evening and decorated festively for the holiday (s). 

We dined early to beat the crowds and allow for the children’s schedule. 

Hemingway’s offered a price fixe holiday dinner but we each ordered from the traditional menu, opting for our regular favorites from a menu we know well. 

From the limited but focused wine list, we started with Champagne to enjoy with our starter course (s).

We ordered several selections for our starter courses:

Blue Point Oysters - six piece, cocktail sauce

Chicken Liver Pate - Dijon Mustard | Cornichons | Toasted Crostini

Foie Gras du Jour - Caramelized Fruit, Pear Slices, Candy Onions, Parsnip Puree, Balsamic Vinaigrette

For the entree course: 

Linda the Roasted Stripe Bass A'la Piperade - pepper relish, golden raisins and cassoulet beans.

Michelle ordered the Grilled Steak Frites - Pommes Frites | Herb Stuffed Baked Tomato | Beurre Maitre d'Hotel.

Sean ordered the Duo of Magret Duck - parsnip puree, shitake caps, blood orange demi.

I ordered the New York Steak au Poivre - Cream Spinach | Pommes Au Gratin | Green Peppercorn Sauce

I took BYOB from our cellar for the occasion a vintage St Julien Bordeaux from one of our favorite producers for a perfect food wine pairing with the French cuisine.

Château Gruaud-Larose St Julien-Beychevelle Bordeaux 2010

We enjoyed A Visit to Château Gruaud-Larose which was one of the key highlights on our 2019 trip to the St Julien Appellation (AOC) in Bordeaux. Château Gruaud-Larose, a 2ème Cru Classé or 'second growth', one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) as classified in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

This label is one of the key holdings in our cellar collection consisting of more than a dozen vintages spanning three decades dating back to 1980 including the birth year vintages of each of our kids, 1981, 1982, 1985 and 1990. We hold many vintages in large format bottles including 3 liter double magnums which we served at daughter Erin's and son-in-law Johnny's wedding.

Tonight, I selected a vintage release that I presumed to be in the ‘Goldilock’s zone’, not too old, and not too young, but just right, at the apex of its prime drinking window. I was not disappointed, this actually exceeded my highest hopes and expectations and was absolutely delicious, a perfect pairing with the dinner - especially the Foie Gras. As I have written often in these pages, an optimal food-wine pairing amplifies and ameliorates the enjoyment of both! Such was the case tonight. 

This release was rated 97 points by Decanter, 96 points by James Suckling, 95 points by Wine Enthusiast and Jane Anson, 94 points by Vinous, and 93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator. 

Wine Enthusiast wrote, “For anybody looking for classic Bordeaux, this is the bottle to seek.” They advise to “ Keep for many years,” but this will be difficult as it is temptingly so good! Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate writes, “ … blockbuster wine, which has been built for the long haul. This is one 2010 where patience will be required. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040.” Thankfully I have nearly a case so will enjoy watching this age gracefully. 

The producers notes about the vintage season - “Ideal ripening of all the varieties overall thanks to exceptionally dry August and September without excessive heat. Ideal harvest from first to last day allowing picking of each variety at optimum oenological maturity.”

This released was aged in 50% new oak.

Dark garnet/plum/purple colored, full bodied, full tannins and dense but balanced, smooth, polished and elegant, ripe dark raspberry, red and black currant and blueberry fruits with “loads of spice, earth, underbrush, licorice, and a hint of Provencal garrigue”, with silky tannins and a beautifully integrated tannin structure on a long and ‘very’ refined tannic structure.

RM 95 points.  

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/1123336

https://www.gruaud-larose.com/en/

https://hemmingwaysbistro.com/

https://hemmingwaysbistro.com/our-menu/

Happy New Year and Cheers in the year ahead! 

Château La Couspaude St Emilion Grand Cru Classé with Hemingway's Oak Park French Fare

Château La Couspaude St Emilion Grand Cru Classé with Hemingway's Oak Park French Fare

For a dinner outing with friends Bob & Gloria we introduced them to Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park for French influenced fare. I took along a CDP and a Bordeaux from which to choose to accompany my entree selection.

Bob and Linda chose the Halibut special with a roasted red pepper sauce while Gloria chose the Sea Scallops, all served on a bed a risotto, so we selected a Sancerre Domaine Villaudiere from the wine-list for them.

I chose the New York strip au Poivre with cream spinach and pomme au gratin and had them open my Château La Couspaude St Emilion Grand Cru Classé which I brought BYOB.

For starters, we had the Butternut Squash Bisque, French Onion soup, and I enjoyed the Trio Beet Salad and the superb Foie Gras du jour with raspberry coulee which was a perfect pairing with the La Couspaude.

Hemingway's atmosphere is very cordial and relaxing, the service attentive and professional making for an enjoyable dining experience. Its has the elegance of causal fine dining, is easy to access, just off the Ike midway between the city and the western suburbs, and lacks the crowds, bustle, noise and hassles of parking. And being close to the Frank Lloyd Wright 'district' allows for some historic architectural sight-seeing enroute or afterwards.

Domaine de la Villaudière Sancerre 2011

Straw colored, light bodied, bright, crisp, clean with high acidity, aromas and flavors of green apples predominate with tones of wet limestone, chalk and minerality and hint of citrus.

RM 87 points.

http://www.sancerre-lavillaudiere.com/

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1346511 








Château La Couspaude St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005

This is the flagship wine of the Aubert Family portfolio who have been producers in the St. Emilion appellation for almost two centuries. The family operation consists of three Aubert brothers, Alain, Daniel and Jean-Claude, along with their children, Vanessa, Heloïse and Yohann. The family operates several estates spread along the Right Bank in Bordeaux from St. Emilion all the way up to Cotes de Castillon.

The Chateau La Couspaude 7 hectare (14 acre) property with its unique terroir sitting on the limestone plateau on the outskirts of the village of Saint-Emilion is planted in 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon vines. The vineyard has been in place for close to 300 years! Today, the vines are planted to a density of 6,500 vines per hectare with the average age of the vines is about thirty years.

They family has worked to upgrade the property over the last several decades and Chateau La Couspaude was promoted to Grand Cru Classé distinction in the new classification of wines of Saint-Emilion in 1996.

Traditionally, the wines tended to show much new oak in the style their Bordeaux wine. Starting with 2006, the Aubert’s reduced the amount of new oak, changed the type of oak and further reduced the amount of oak in the 2011 vintage which allows the wine of La Couspaude to express more complexities. Malolactic fermentation takes place in new 100% new, French oak barrels. the wine is aged in 100% new, French oak barrels for between 18 and 20 months.

Today, Chateau La Couspaude is known for fleshy, flashy, low acid, sensuous, but oaky, early drinking style of St. Emilion wine. Production of Chateau La Couspaude ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 cases at the St. Emilion estate per vintage. They also produce a second wine, Junior de la Couspaude.

The  Château La Couspaude St Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2005 exhibits dark inky blackish garnet/purple with medium to full body. The firm, rather tight complex concentrated black berry fruits are over taken by mouthful of tea, tobacco, kirsch, tones of pain grille, smoky creosote and hints of sweet oak/spice notes with lingering big but fine tannins. This was a perfect complement to the grilled New York Steak as well as the foie gras. 

 

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=235727

http://www.aubert-vignobles.com/lacouspaude.php?specid=1&langid=2#!home-english/c1l8o

http://www.hemmingwaysbistro.com/ 

Festive Holiday Dinner at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park

Festive Holiday Dinner at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park

For son Alec's last night at home for the holidays before returning to NYC, we normally would've dined out at his 'alma mater' restaurant where he worked through high school and college, Angelis Italian, our favorite neighborhood Italian Trattoria. Instead, we opted for another favorite Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park. We were accompanied by Sean and Michelle.

To accompany our authentic Provencal cuisine, I took a Bordeaux Blend from the cellar, Pirouette from Washington State Long Shadows, crafted by Frenchman turned California and subsequently Washington State winemaker, Philip Melka.

We're long time fans of the work of Philip Melka, named one of the top nine winemakers in the world by Robert Parker. He collaborates with Long Shadows to craft this label from small lots sourced from Washington State's finest vineyards. We visited Long Shadows during our Woodinville, Washington Wine Experience this summer where we tasted and acquired the current release of this label. Tonight we drank a fourteen year old 2004 vintage release.

Long Shadows Vintners is a collection of seven ultra-premium Columbia Valley wines showcasing the viticulture of the growing region and features internationally acclaimed winemakers who inspired them.

Founded in 2003 by Washington State wine visionary Allen Shoup, the Long Shadows project is based on the collaboration of notable winemakers from around the world, each known for a particular varietal based wine. Each vintner was given access to Washington State's best grapes and a winery to accommodate their exacting cellar specifications. The imaginative project has been an immense success and the wines have received critical acclaim vintage after vintage. Long Shadows has collectively  won numerous awards, including recognition as Food & Wine magazine's "Winery of the Year."

Philippe Melka is the creator of Pirouette, his first wine from Washington State, as he normally hails from Napa Valley where he is involved in cult favorites Hundred Acre, Seavey Vineyard, Dana Estates and Vineyard 29, as well as his own branded namesake labeled wines. Robert Parker Jr. wrote in the March 2013 issue of Food and Wine magazine, "Anything associated with (his) name is of undeniably high, high quality."

Melka had worked with Quintessa owner Agustin Huneeus, Sr. who introduced him to Allen Shoup and Long Shadows. Huneeus was a longtime friend of Shoup and became the first vintner to embrace Allen's vision for Long Shadows. He introduced Philippe as the perfect winemaker to craft the Bordeaux blend both he and Allen envisioned.

Philippe was born and educated in Bordeaux, earning a master's degree in agronomy and enology. He learned the trade and honed his skills at some of the world's most famous wineries including Château Cheval Blanc, Petrus and Château Haut-Brion, where he developed his passion for cabernet-based blends, like Pirouette. 

For our first course selections we drank from the winelist Louis Roederer NV Champagne with the Lobster Bisque, Foie Gras du jour and salads.

Hemingway's is known for a selection of fresh seafoods and most of us followed suit. Linda ordered the Striped Sea Bass, Alec had the diver sea scallops, Sean and Michelle had the crusted whitefish and I had the strip steak au poivre' entrees.

For dessert, Linda shared the chocolate souffle and I had the trio of sorbets, black raspberry, mango and strawberry. 


Long Shadows Pirouette Red Wine Blend 2004

I brought this Bordeaux Blend to accompany my Strip Steak aux poivre'.  While it is a blend of Bordeaux varietals Cabernet, Merlot, and Petit Verdot, it also contains a percentage of Syrah. It seems the Syrah almost predominated with a residual sweetness un-befitting the blend. The blend is 49% Cabernet, 37% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot and 11% Syrah. It is showing no signs of diminution from aging at fourteen years and seems to still be at the apex of its drinking window.

The cork came apart on opening so the server had to decant this and strain it to remove the crumbled cork and residual sediment. Bright ruby colored, medium-full bodied, vibrant, rich concentrated forward black and blue fruits with highlights of black cherry, notes of cassis, spice and hints of cedar and creosote giving way to sweet almost obtuse bing cherry notes on the tangy lingering finish.

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=317596

http://www.longshadows.com/

 http://www.hemmingwaysbistro.com/

Anniversary Dinner at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park

Anniversary Dinner at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park 

For our anniversary celebration dinner we dined at Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park, one of our favorite eateries. 

Hemmingway's Bistro' menu combines classic French dishes with the fresh Midwest ingredients crafted by Chef Ala, a certified Executive Chef with the American Culinary Federation with 25 years of professional cooking experience. 

In 1999, Ala was the opening Executive Chef of the Historic Allerton Hotel in Chicago after their 80 million dollar renovation. Ala has also ran Le Meriden Hotel and Chez Paul Restuarant in Chicago.

In Boston, Ala was the Chef of The Colonnade Hotel and Brasserie Jo. In Florida, he was at Boca Raton Resort and Club and spent seven years in the Caribbean working at resorts in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

Ala features daily specials of fresh seafood, typically East-coast seafood flown in daily from Boston, a daily Souffle, Pate or Foie Gras, and each weekend, their signature Beef Wellington. 

They have a thoughtful, carefully selected winelist with a nice offering of WBTG - Wines By The Glass. They also have an appropriate corkage policy and we typically bring a bottle from our cellar to accompany a winelist selection.

I pulled from our cellar a couple of special bottles from which to choose based on our entree selections, but in the end we opted to select a couple of WBTG - wines by the glass, from the winelist, allowing us to each select different wines to accompany our entree selections.  

We opened with Roederer Brut Premier Champagne. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1128546

Linda had their signature Baked Brie in puff pastry with Apricot preserves, wildflower honey and almonds, which she paired with a Russian River Valley Chardonnay. 

I started with their delectable Foie Gras on a bed of turnips with peaches, balsamic and honey glaze. I paired the Foie Gras with a Bourgogne Marsannay from Louis Latour. 

 

 

With my Foie Gras I had this Burgundian Pinot Noir.

 

Louis Latour Marsannay Pinot Noir 2017

 

This is from Marsannay, the village which marks the northern gateway to the Côte d'Or on leaving Dijon, the capital of Burgundy and home to the Ducs de Bourgogne. This village marks the beginning of the Route des Grands Crus which follows the N6 highway through the Côte d'Or.

Wines from Marsannay are generally lively and robust; characteristics that come from the rich iron soil. Marsannay received its Appellation Contrôlée as recently as 1987 in recognition of the consistently high quality of its wine.

Winemaker notes for this release: "Our Marsannay is sturdy and robust due to the rich iron-based soil. The wine has an intense bouquet of red fruit and a silky palate with a distinct gamey character and great tannic appeal."

Reviewers notes for this label: James Suckling gave it 91 points, Wine Spectator 90/100 and a 'Top Value', the Burgundy Report, Bill Nanson (UK), cited "Delicious".

This was an ideal complement to the Foie Gras, 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.louislatour.com/en/wines/68/marsannay-rouge/2017

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3170668

 

Our entree selections were the daily fish special, Striped Sea Bass in a Meuniere sauce for Linda, and I had the Duck A L'orange, served on a bed of braised cabbage in Gran Marnier sauce and pommes dauphine. 

 
After tasting the Burgundian Chardonnay with its clean clear crisp acidity, Linda opted for the Russian River Valley Sonoma Chardonnay for its bigger, bolder, fuller body with a more buttery flavor profile, more suited to the white wine butter Meuniere sauce.

  

 

Lake Sonoma Winery Sonoma County Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2018

 
Winemaker Notes: Aromas of tangerine, pear, tropical fruit and creamy oak. Flavors of white peach, Charentais melon, crème brulee with a lengthy orange citrus and vanilla bean coated finish.
 

Wine pundit Wilson Wong of Wine.com gave this 89 points noting its aromas and flavors of dried peach and savory spices.

 

45% of this Russian River Chardonnay was barrel fermented in 30% French oak (15% neutral barrels), with the remainder fermented in stainless steel. 75% of the juice went through a softening malolactic fermentation during its one year of ageing.

 

Gold colored, medium bodied, notes of pear, pineapple, butter, and vanilla with accents of peach, pear, and mandarin orange.

RM 88 points. 

 

https://lakesonomawinery.com/

 

 

My wine selection for the main course was another Pinot Noir, this time an Oregon Willamette Valley from Roots Vineyards. 

 

 

Roots Wine Company Klee Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2019

This is a mainstay of the carefully selected Hemingway's WBTG feature offerings. I've had several vintages releases of this label at Hemmingway's over the years, either with their pate', the Foie Gras, or tonight, with the Duck. 

This is from producer winemaker and winegrower Chris Berg, born in Racine, Wisc., and raised in Idaho, Pennsylvania and Illinois. After graduating from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, with a bachelor's in English, he followed his parents, Chuck and Dian Berg, to Oregon from Illinois to work with them in their manufacturing company in Tualatin, Ore. There Chris soon set upon planting a small vineyard.

In 1999, the Bergs planted seven acres of mostly Pinot Noir on the 20-acre property near Yamhill in the Yamhill-Carlton District of the Willamette Valley. Chuck and Dian built a small house on the vineyard, and Chris lived in Portland with his wife, Hilary. They closed the doors of the manufacturing business in 2000, and the Bergs found themselves full-time in the winery business. 

Chris and Hilary moved to the vineyard from Portland in 2001 and in 2002, picked their first harvest of three tons, which were produced 72 cases of Pinot Noir. 

Today, Roots produces approximately 5,000 cases annually, the flagship estate Pinot Noir, as well as eight single vineyard-designate Pinot Noirs, sourced mostly from neighboring vineyards in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. They also produce a Grenache, Pinot Gris, Melon de Bourgogne, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and a Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling named after their son, Theo. Roots' reserve Pinot Noir label, Racine, honors the town in which Chris was born. (The name means "root" in French).

Roots' second label, Klee (named after artist Paul Klee), makes up the largest portion of the case production. 3400 cases were produced of this release. 

This label, akin to an artists series label, pays homage to one of winemaker/owner Chris Berg’s favorite artists, named for the famous Bauhaus artist Paul Klee. 

The artwork on the label is an adaptation of a painting called Solution “ee”. of the Birthday Assignment, 1924. Berg likens this wine to the Bauhaus school where art is for the people, this wine is for the people! 

In homage to one of Chris' favorite artists, the artwork is their own adaptation of a Klee painting. 

This Pinot Noir is sourced from 14 family-owned vineyards located in the North Willamette Valley, west of Portland, about 40% located in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA and coming mostly from sedimentary and alluvial soil. 

 

  

Garnet colored, medium bodied, this was bright and vibrant with fruit forward notes spicy ripe black cherry, black raspberry, and plum, with hints of cedar, fresh-crushed herbs, and earthiness. 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3902204

Roots Wine Company 

https://roots.wine/ 

We finished the evening with the classic Hemingway's Souffle, tonight's feature raspberry, which we enjoyed with a shared glass of Sambucca!