Our Mothers’ Day plans were a bit foiled (I booked brunch 3-4 months in advance at Montage in Laguna Beach) because of some scheduling issues with the kids, so we ended up winging it. We planned to go to a local restaurant that reserves half their tables for walk-ins, always, including holidays (but they’re ALWAYS packed, so that doesn’t seem to help much). We figured their brunch service ended at 3 so we’d show up at 4 and put our name in - two hour wait! We chose this place because there’s a sea bass dish Jen was really looking forward to, and so we grabbed a bottle of Dehlinger '13 Chardonnay for the dinner, as this place as free corkage.
Well, we walked around while our name was on the list, and later decided on one of my favorite local places downtown - a good ol’ family place - Rocco’s, where Rocco and his wife run the show, and work every single holiday, apparently, including Mothers’ Day! I love the food there, love the family atmosphere. They have fish on the menu, so we were set.
I chose a chicken marsala which was infreakin’credible and Jen had a halibut special - now…to the wine…I’m amazed how much I love Dehlinger Chardonnay. On its own, it’s refreshing, complex, and really true to the grape, even with the oak treatment. It’s unfiltered, and seemingly regardless of the vintage, I love the wine. Jen’s dish was more acidic than mine, with blistered tomatoes on the sauce, and I think a good dose of lemon, and my dish was far over in the rich side of sauces - creamy and mushroomy - and the wine was just spectacular. When bringing it to a restaurant, one often gets little looks from the waiter, who sees a rather basic looking label - truly, looks like cheap wine if concentrating only on packaging - but none I’ve had open the bottle know the glory of what’s inside. A wine that is fantastic year after year, ages well, is wonderful on its own, and ridiculously easy to pair with.
In short…love this wine!