We drove up Friday after work for the long weekend. Whistler is quiet and calm Memorial Day weekend, as it’s the shoulder season between end of skiing and full start of mountain biking. Also, there’s no concurrent Canadian holiday (we made the mistake of visiting last year on American Labor Day, which is also a holiday in Canada. The place was packed).
Our first night, we had a nice meal at Wildflower in the Fairmont. We byob’d Krug 164eme. I’ve always suspected this would eventually be an excellent edition. We’ve had some very good bottles, but after some time in the cellar, last night’s bottle finally showed greatness.
It’s a protean wine; just when I thought I’d identified a flavor or aroma, another would present. First brioche and gingerbread, then pomelo, later a bitter grapefruit rind…citrus and orchard fruit, hazelnut and almond cream, honey and apricot. Its density and intensity are counterbalanced by the crisp cut of the base 2008 fruit. To my palate, it’s entered a prime drinking window. I wish I could undrink my previous ten bottles.
I’m going cross-thread to answer @Mark_Y’s question on the Champagne thread about new hot spots in Whistler. The only news is that the Bar Osa remodel and expansion is way behind schedule, so they’re not open as planned, and it looks like it will be months.
Here’s our list of favorites. It hasn’t changed in years:
Whistler Restaurants
Red Door; probably our #1 favorite
Araxi; still really good
Bar Ossa (great tapas if they ever reopen)
Alta Bistro (casual French inspired bistro)
Element (excellent locals spot for breakfast)
Sidecut (steakhouse in the Four Seasons). We tend to avoid steakhouses, but last visit we had a great meal.
We used to really like Rimrock but they went for prix fixe, which MB doesn’t like. They stopped allowing corkage, and lost me as a customer.
We need to try
Blue Water
Quatro
Ill Caminetto
Saturday night, we visited Araxi for another great meal. The corkage was $40CA, and I brought an old favorite.
-
NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Les Crayères.
A great bottle. Unmistakably BdN. Black cherries, dark berries, pear, chalk. Some oak. Dense but elegant. MB liked this better than last night’s Krug 164 (I silently begged to differ). This was the 2014 base, 2021 disgorgement. I preferred the 2019 disgorged 2012 based version, but it’s possible this just needs more time.
Ignore any negative undertones in this note; it’s a fabulous champagne that I’d gladly drink anytime. For my palate, the Crayeres and VP are the best wines from this house.
On a side note, the label looks like I stole this one from @Frank_Murray_III’s label eating wine fridge 
Word. That is funny, and true.
Have a wonderful trip.
Thanks Warren!
Man I’ve heard about red door so much. Gotta put it on the list! Good to hear about sidecut as well. Thanks!
Bar ossa - seriously. How long does Renovation take? 
Alta bistro has been our must visit each trip. Araxi and Quattro / caminetto are similar to me in terms of quality. Good but not the “best” there.
Wild Blue is excellent food. tho kinda pricy so you pay for it a bit.
My next post will be another champagne TN, so I’ll risk this post without requesting the thread be moved to the travel forum.
The Amex Platinum “Fine Hotels and Resorts” deal for the Four Seasons here in Whistler is pretty incredible. It’s under $400 a night including tax, daily breakfast for two, a $100 spa credit, early check in, room upgrade (we have a Mountain View suite), and 4pm checkout. (edited to remove free parking)
Yesterday, we took a short drive to a short hike to Brandywine Falls which were spectacular. The snow melt has the river and falls raging. We lengthened the hike to four miles on a decent trail with fairly unaesthetic lakes.
Last night, which was also our last night in Whistler, we had another great dinner at The Red Door. While it looks like a hole in the wall tavern (there is in fact a hole in the wall tavern attached from where they get their mixed drinks), the food is sensational and consistent. We had the Steelhead and the Wild Boar, both excellent. Both paired well with the dense champagne. One petty complaint; they need to upgrade their wine service. I prefer not to drink fine wine out of a dense glass with a thick rim.
2002 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs
Lush, fresh and delicious. Ripe apple, citrus, toffee, hazelnuts. As good as it was, I think my previous bottle outperformed this one. That could be related to different disgorgements, bottle variance, or palate variance. Nonetheless, the 2002 Ruinart BdB is a masterpiece.
Gentlemen. You mention Blue Water, which I believe is in Vancouver, I think. Do you mean Wild Blue?
We visited last night and absolutely loved it. The dishes were all delicious and thoughtfully prepared. They let us sit on the deck with our little doggie under the table. The service was very professional but friendly.
We ordered a bottle of Chianti Classico from Tenuta de Carleone that was wonderful. I love how elegant Sangiovese from Radda is.
Thanks for listening.
Yes! :). Wild Blue in whistler.
@David_Cooper
Yes! Wild Blue (Whistler), not Blue Water (Vancouver). We’re going back for the long Independence Day. Maybe we’ll get to try it then.
Cheers
Warren
Used to consult with several Vancouver companies and with Whistler’s sustainability program so loved those trips’ and staying at the Fairmont. I also allowed extra return luggage space to carry back some Tantalus bottles - miss those!
Christina,
Good on you, consulting for sustainability. I’ve never had Tantalus. Should I buy some when we’re back in July?
My wife hates all sweet wines. At Araxi, for dessert, I had a nice tawny port. The server recommended Elephant Island Cherry Wine for Marybeth. She loved it. Fruity, but dry, and not viscous. Elephant Island Winery is in Naramata, BC, and make fruit wine and cider.
Cheers,
Warren
Give their Riesling and Old Vines Riesling a try. they describe as off-dry and have nice minerality. I took my last bottle if Old Vines to drink at a spectacular dinner at Schwa about 7 years ago. I do not think of their wines as sweet but ymmv.
The Whistler team were some of the smartest sustainability folks around - so much of the village’s planning carefully factored in impacts from ski runs to seasonal employment issues.
The village’s team now consults with other communities: https://www.whistlercentre.ca/
I have been drinking and buying the Tantalus Old Vines since the 05. My opinion was that they were totally dry, but having tasted a few blind, I would say they are Kabinett level.
Spohn and I were sharing a 12 pack every year but, I found I wasn’t drink but a bottle or two a year so I stopped with the 18.
We love Araxi, Il’ Caminetto and now Wild Blue. We always park the car and walk to restaurants so we have never visited any restaurants outside the Village.
Most places allow corkage as well. It’s great.
We returned to Whistler for the holiday weekend. It was a great backup when our plans to visit the Oregon Coast or Tofino/Ucluelet failed to materialize.
Last night, an excellent dinner at Il Caminetto. Our son joined us this trip, so it’s all magnums. I thought a bold rosé champagne would pair well with a variety of Italian dishes, so I brought my only bottle of 2004 Taittinger Comtes Rosé. We had a beautiful bottle of the 2007 a few weeks ago, so expectations were high. Those were sadly dashed. This particular bottle was unbalanced, without the energy and acidity to counter the generous fruit and the sweetness. It drank almost like a demi-sec, although I’d expect more cut in those as well.
We had a great night. The service was as good as the food. Our server was fun, and after complimenting the entire experience while speaking to the manager, he brought me a sip of 2002 d’Yquem. We’ll definitely be back there again.
Tonight, we have reservations at Rimrock. It our first time back since they banned corkage. The Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle Iteration 20 magnum I brought for that dinner will survive to see another day. For some reason, I thought they had reversed the corkage decision.
We’re here for three more nights after that, so stay tuned for some more magnum and restaurant reports.
Cheers,
Warren
Last night, we had a wonderful mostly seafood meal at Rimrock. I ended my stubborn boycott I’d started after they banned corkage.
Off the wine list, i ordered a 2016 Caze-Thibaut Les Fourches BdB. This is a new grower to me. It was a great choice to start our meal. The wine was delicious, fresh, clean and energetic. Equal parts lemon, orchard fruit, saline minerality.
I remembered seeing Laurent Perrier Grande Siecle on this list (no iteration given). It was priced higher than I’d planned to spend, but I asked the server to look at the neck label for the iteration number. He came back with two bottles; one was 24, the other had no iteration label. I assumed it was a 23, which in 750’s was the last iteration without a number on the neck. I’m a long time fan of LP’s Grand Siecle, and that is one of my favorite releases. 2006, 2004 and 2002.
Curiosity got the best of me later in the meal, after an aperitif and the Caze-Thibaut. Those loosened my resolve and my purse strings, so ordered the mystery Grand Siecle. The wine was quite tight upon opening but delicious. It blossomed with time and air. Gorgeous brioche, apples, orange cream, minerals. The class and freshness stood out. These Grand Siecles rarely show their age and this was no exception. A gorgeous wine. The cork code started with B71, showing a disgorgement in the second quarter of 2017. That and the fact that all of their other bottles were labeled with 24’s pretty much confirmed this as the 23.
Last night, the best dinner of the week at Red Door Bistro. I carried a magnum of 2006 Billecart Salmon Cuvée Nicolas François. It was easily the best bottle of it from this vintage I’ve had. Balanced and delicious, with lemon cream, brioche, warm hazelnuts. Maybe as good as some of the bottles of the 2002 I’ve opened.
The magnum didn’t last to meal’s end, so I ordered a bottle of NV Pierre Peters Cuvée de Reserve. No formal notes taken, but it was also the best of these I’ve opened. A very good evening for us.
Thnx for the note Warren, I recently bought a magnum of this so read your note with interest
Cheers Brodie
Last night, we had dinner at a relatively new restaurant. Wild Blue opened last August. It’s a great new addition to the Whistler dining scene. It has leaped to the top of restaurants on our list. The wine list was spectacular albeit a little young. I wish they published it to share here.
We opened a magnum of 2011 Larmandier Bernier VV du Levant. They actually had the 2012 on the wine list! I’ve not had a better champagne from 2011, and I’d chose this over innumerable champagnes from better vintages. Pear, lemon, brioche, almond. Utterly drinkable. I’m thankful @Frank_Murray_III turned me on to this wine a while back.
