As the blustery Fall has landed on our doorstep, and we’ve begun to open Indoor Dining (ever so slowly), I thought it the perfect time to resume our big bottle pours. There’s nothing more comforting than the extra dimension of a beautiful glass of wine coming out of a large format – it’s truly a joy to see the balance of youth and wisdom that proper cellaring provides.
A wonderful place to start, then, is well-cellared Chardonnay from one of the American masters: Chateau Montelena. Initially garnering fame for their dark horse winning of the white wine half of the 1976 Judgement of Paris, these wines have remained classic, consistent and thrilling year-after-year. Last year I was able to acquire some back-vintage bottles in large format, directly from the Chateau.
For this week, we’ll look into the 1997s out of 5L. I’m beyond excited to see where this wine is at developmentally; when properly stored there is little more exciting than the plush depths of older Chardonnay.
We’ve got two of these wonderful bottles – we’ll pour it all week until it’s gone!
Also, this Wednesday we’ll be getting in the first White Truffles of the season. As a special, Chef Balboni is going to prepare a ‘Raviolo du Roi’ – a wonderful, crown-shaped ravioli with white truffles shaved upon it. This should be a fabulously rich dish, well-matched for the Montelena. Looking forward to seeing you here and hope all is well!
ALL WEEK LONG (10/19 – 10/25)
Chateau Montelena,
Napa Valley Chardonnay 1997 out of 5L
30/glass