La Dolce Vita - December 7 - 8
[Social Index] [Main Index]
This weekend was a totally spontaneous weekend, which made it all the more intresting. It started off because I had received the latest issue of Wine Spectator that had their Top 100 list. Of course, California wines are well represented in the list. We got all excited about reading about them and it was such a nice day out, so on Saturday at about 12:30pm, we decided we'd go wine tasting. We packed overnight gear so that we could be ready for anything
We took a quick side trip to Yountville on our way up and decided to stop by The French Laundry for kicks. I asked to be put on the wait list for a cancellation. We had been driving off for more than a few blocks when they called and said they had a cancellation for Sunday lunch at 11am. Woohoo! We were in (for those of you not familiar with The French Laundry, they take reservations 2 months to the date in advance, receive 1000 calls a day and the restaurant is small. needless to say, it is near impossible to get reservations this way. Believe me, I've tried!), but we also didn't have clothing appropriate for dining there so we would have to solve that problem later.
S.
Anderson
We made it to our first destination, S. Anderson.. They didn't
have any more of the 1999 Cabernet that was mentioned in Wine Spectator's list,
but we had some delicious wines (Wine Spectator's Top 100 list factor's in cost
for the rankings so it isn't a straight ranking of the most highly rated). We
tasted their sparkling wines and esp. like the Rose. We were both very
impressed with their 1999 SAV Reserve Merlot, one of the biggest Merlot's we've
ever tasted. They weren't tasting their 1999 SAV Reserve Cabernet because there
were only a few cases left. I ended up buying two of the SAV Cabernet's based
on their reputation and my recollection of the 1997 SAV Cabernet's I tasted and
purchased (4 bottles) in previous years, two bottles of the SAV Merlot and one
bottle of the Rose. Andrea also bought 2 bottles of the SAV Merlot and a bottle
of the Rose.
Since we were already in the Stag's Leap Distrcit, we decided to stay around there, esp. since there were several wines on our list to check out. Silverado's 1999 Cabernet was on the Top 100 list. We actually did the reserve tasting where we were able to a vertical of the 1999 Reserve Cabernet, 1997 Cab Reserve, and the 1994 Cab reserve. As a result of a bottle mixup, we did receive a taste of the 1999 Cabernet (the one on the list) which was good, but not great (a good deal at the $30-$35 it was going for). We also had a taste of the 1999 Stag's Leap (non reserve) which was very good. In the end, we both ended up buying a bottle of the 1999 Stag's Leap Reserve (which is supposed to be even more selective than the "regular" cab reserve), which we unfortunately did not get to taste since hey had less than 3 cases left.
On the balcony at Silverado Vineyards
Pine Ridge...not
Okay, we decided to stop by Pine Ridge since they also had a couple wine's (a cab and a chardonnay) on the Wine Spectator list. The tasting room was such a zoo (not unlike the last time we'd gone there) that we gave up on it.
It was almost 4:30pm and we were going to drive back to Napa and then we saw Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. Amazingly, neither of us had ever been to this winery. We arrived just before they were closing so we were one of the last ones there We did the reserve tasting, which was a pricey $30 per person, but a great tasting experince. I can't remember what wine we started off with when we registered, but the 4 wines on the reserve tasting were the 1999 Reserve Chardnonay (nice, not overly malolactic or oaked), 1999 Fay Vineyard Cabernet (very drinkable now. now overly tannic), 1999 S.L.V. Cabernet (huge, darker cab flavors like currant, very tasty), and the 1999 Cask 23 (wonderful), which is a blend of the first picks from both th Fay and Stag's Leap Vineyards. It was a very informative tasting and we were really glad we stopped by. Andrea purchased one bottle of Cask 23 and I purchased one bottle of Cask 23 and one bottle of the SLV.
Okay, we didn't have clothes for Sunday's lunch at French Laundry, so that gave us the excuse to final visit the Napa Premium Outlets. I found a nice grey suit (they actually had a few suits I liked and it's always hard for me to find, one, suits that even fit me and, two, ones that I like) and 4 shirts at the Barney's Outlet. Andrea found a nice grey suit too, but in the end decided to pass. She did end up buying a nice ensemble at Max Studio. So, we were set for clothing.
We found a decent hotel in Napa and stayed there for the night. We had a late dinner at The Depot, a hole in the wall Italian restaurant mentioned by one of the workers at S. Anderson, so we though we'd give it a try. Decent food at a decent price.
Okay, let me cut to the chase...I can honestly say this was the best meal I've ever had. Those of you who know me and know my eating habits know that this is high praise.
The French Laundry's menu consists of 3 different prix fixe menus. One is the regular 5 course menu, a second is the 9 course vegetarian tasting menu, and the 3rd is the chef's tasting menu. Since Andrea and I are such foodies, the 9 course chef's tasting was the way to go. With the 9 course tasting menu, there were two special substitutions. Since white truffles were in season (only 6 weeks out of the year), they had those available for the second course and also offered seared foie gras as a substitution for the pork belly, which worked out so amazingly well for me since i don't eat pork and I love seared foie gras. Also, when there were other choices on the menu, Andrea and I opted to maximize our variety by each selecting different choices thereby allowing us to try all the options. All of this was complemented with wine. Below is a short list of our meal.
Wine: To start, we had glasses
of Billecart Salmon champagne. After conulting with the sommelier, we also ordered
a half bottle of German Riesling and a half bottle of a 1997 Barolo from Alba,
the same place as the white truffles. It was great having such a choice of half
bottles to maximize the matching with our meal.
Starter: We were give
a little tiny cone with a scoop of salmon diced salmon and green onion. Inside
the cone was some kind of creamy, cheesy thing.
First Course: osetra
caviar on panna cotta. I enjoyed this in all of it's fishy glory. A bit too fishy
for Andrea.
Second Course: for me, shaved white truffles from Alba (on
Monday, we found out that Whole Foods was selling white truffles for $10 per ounce.
The truffle they had weighed 9 ounces) on a bed of risotto and drizzled with browned
butter. Andrea had the carmelized banana and endive salad.
Third Course:
basically a choice of a warm or cold serving of fish. i had the broiled or
baked black cod and Andrea had the hawaiian ahi tuna
Fourth Course: butter
poached lobster, Thomas Keller specialty for sure. Served in a veal stock. Was
also purported (by the sommelier hence his wine recommendation below) to be acidic,
but didn't seem to be very much so.
Additional Wine: Lustau reserve
amontillado sherry. This was recommended by the sommelier as a match for the difficult
to match lobster dish above. It's a dry sherry. Andrea and i didn't find it a
particularly interesting wine nor an especially good match with the lobster. We
were both more than satisfied with the Riesling with the lobster.
Fifth
Course: I had the seared foie gras and Andrea had the pork belly with huckleberries.
The foie gras was very good, but I've definitely had better (e.g. Andre's in Las
Vegas, Jardiniere, others).
Additional Wine: Late harvest Sauvignon
Blanc/Chardonnay from Rust? I'm not so sure exactly what the vineyard was, but
it was very tasty and a good match for the seared foie gras (in place of a sauterne).
Sixth
Course: I had the lamb, medium rare of course and Andrea had the beef. The
lamb was incredibly tender, but again, I've had tastier preparations.
Seventh
Course: montbriac cheese
Eighth Course: almond tea cake and fruit
compote
Ninth Course: chocolate deliceaux
Additional Wine: honestly,
I can't remember what wine we had with the chocolate.
Finis: an array
of petit fours
I have no qualms about recommending The French Laundry. By far, the biggest drawbacks though are, one, the price (9 course prix fixe before substitutions was $135/person + wine) and, two, getting a reservation.
After that huge 3 hour epicurean extravaganza, we didn't feel like doing much, but indulging ourselves further seemed to fitting. We called up the Sonoma Mission Inn and arranged for a facial, manicure, and pedicure for Andrea and a 100 minute massage for me. Neither of us had been to the Sonoma Mission Inn so it was nice to try a new spa. The facitilities were very nice although we weren't really prepared to take full advantage of them (or use the outdoor facilities). Still, the jacuzzi was very nice and the treatments were enjoyable. We were very lucky because it was the off season so we were able to get reservations on such short notice. The facilities had the most number of rooms for massage, wraps, water treatment that I've seen at any spa.
