After a couple of delays and a cold, we were finally able to celebrate my sweetie’s birthday at our favorite restaurant on the planet, The Stonehouse, located on the lux property of the San Ysidro Ranch in Montectio.
The Uber driver took us through the entrance of the Ranch and up a long driveway to the restaurant as we were graced the entire way by classy Christmas decorations. The premises was also magnificently decorated.
As usual, we were seated at our preferred table and took our own wines and stemware and did our own wine service. For these special occasions, we always take Cristal and an older Williams Selyem Pinot Noir made by our dear friend, Burt Williams.
We deviated from our normal lacto ova vegetarian cuisine preference in favor of having steak Diane flambéed with cognac table side. Thanks to a recent tip shared by a good friend from Arkansas, we ordered it medium rare plus and it was perfectly prepared to our liking.
It was a grand evening and the wines perfectly complemented the food and our palates preferences. When it comes time to pull the champagne, the choice has been made easy by Roelanda’s request for Cristal; so, the selection is more about the vintage. We have had many different vintages over the years and one that has consistently stood out from the first sampling on was the choice for this evening:
2009 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL- popped and poured into Sophienwald champagne glasses, this lovely bubbly is comprised of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from 7 grand cru villages, plus Mareuil-sur-Aÿ; 15% is aged in oak and it was dosed at 8 gpl; following its yellow gold color came inviting aromas of honeyed citrus and orchard fruit which on the palate translated into lemon, lime and yellow apple with accents of spice and ginger; it was crisp and refreshing, rich and creamy, full bodied and long; we marveled about how much this bottle emulated those we consumed 5 years ago and since; maybe the yellow apple and gold color are the only real differences; the last sip an hour and half later was just as pleasing as the first sip with consistent notes throughout.
1997 WILLIAMS SELYEM HIRSCH VINEYARD SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- we’ve long been a fan of this vineyard designate and from other vintages in the 1990s and this bottle was absolutely wonderful, albeit expressing a different profile than other recent bottles; first, the fill was high neck to the point I had to tilt the bottle to see if there was any ullage at all {Burt’s ideal was for every bottle to be filled to the cork}; the color was an unadulterated dark red purple and the nose offered generous amounts of spicy red and black raspberry and blueberry which were joined on the palate by cinnamon and milk and dark chocolate accented blackberry and black cherry; in the background, there was a burnt cherry flavor mindful of Smith Brothers wild cherry cough drops; initially, I got a bit of heat but that dissipated and all was good. We had not talked about our food choices until after we got to the restaurant, but as it turned out, this Pinot Noir worked beautifully with the steak.
How wonderful to have such a magnificent restaurant in our back yard. It certainly makes it easy especially when celebrating special occasions and this night was extra special and most importantly, Roelanda was pleased.
Cheers,
Blake