My sweetie and I returned to our favorite local restaurant, the Stonehouse located within the lux property of the San Ysidro Ranch.
We were seated at our favorite table and served by one of our long time, favorite servers.
Our MO is to take a fine champagne and a Burt Williams made Pinot Noir from the 1990s along with Sophienwald stemware.
This was our first time dining here this year and only the second time out for any event in the last 2+ months as I took some time off to recover and heal from a health issue for which I will do an in hospital procedure in 2 weeks and then take another short period of time off for rest and rehab.
So, we celebrated a bit extra on this night and were graced with 2 wines that were as good as they get:
2006 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT- 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay; dosage near 9 gpl; 20% of the wine was aged in oak; no ML; it had a been a few years since I last had this vintage and it has matured into one of the finest of all of the more recent Cristals since 1996; the color was a rich yellow gold and the nose offered ginger and spice infused citrus fruit with lemon and lime most evident; the taste had more of the same and eventually, some delicious yellow apple, mango and white peach joined in; it had an amazing mouthfeel with its oily, viscous texture that had some weight that was immediately noticeable and appreciated; this was simply outstanding in every way; it had class and elegance, sophistication, charm and royalty; it had super inviting aromas, an amazingly delicious taste profile and finished with everything coming together for a grand, climatic finish; we just marveled throughout the evening after each sip and I found myself rationing smaller sips to lengthen the near nirvanic experience.
1996 WILLIAMS SELYEM PRECIOUS MOUNTAIN SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- this was maybe as good as any Burt made wine I’d ever had which includes 1995 Summa in mag among others; I expected it to be good, but what we got was from another world; the fill was high neck and the color was a grainy medium red purple and the nose was replete with cinnamon, spice and talc laden red and black raspberry, all of which continued on to be joined by a nice dollop of blueberry and a touch of red cherry; it was full bodied, had layered depth and complexity, a soft and velvety texture and a long, outstanding finish that sealed the deal; again and as with the Cristal, it was one of the best ever in every way a wine can be appreciated and I responded with deep appreciation and gratitude for all of its gifts. Burt would have been ecstatic with that wry, corner mouth smile of his and a gleam in his eyes.
We settled in and enjoyed the exquisite covered patio, dining room atmosphere with magnificent views which on this night included a perfect before, during and after sunset over the ocean with the channel islands in the background. It was a spectacular night and one that shall remain as one of our best ever of all of our revered dinners at this treasured spot.
Cheers,
Blake
@Jon_Lawrence @Warren_Taranow @Frank_Murray_III @Chris_Seiber
