Bastide

It doesn't get much better than this. Last night we went to the newly re-opened Bastide for dinner. We both had the 7 course menu w/ the wine pairings, for the bargain price of $200 per. But it was worth it, everything was perfect.

We started w/ a glass of champagne, a N.V. Bruno Paillard Champagne, Premiere Cuvee. Loads of bright fruit flavors w/ that ever so good nutty finish. We had this with the first of the "Amuses," bread/cheese/candied peanuts and a delicious "deconstruction of a lobster taco," a tortilla strip w/ a shot of clear salsa, followed by a spoon of lobster meat, followed w/ a small shot of tequila w/ lime sorbet. Delicious. The last of the "Amuses" was yellowtail tuna served three ways, plain w/ salt, tartare, and sushi. We had a sake w/ the yellowtail, a Miyao Shuzo Junmai Ginjo, "Shimeharutsuru" ... I had definitely not ever had a sake that of this quality before, but it was still sake to me and I'd prefer a grape based wine :)

The second course was a Thai coconut soup w/ prawns, served out of a French Press. Fantastic soup, not spicy but it definitely had some heat to it. Absolutely decadent, I wish I could make soup like this. The wine was a 2005 Domdechant-Werner Hochheimer Holle Riesling "Kabinett". Again, delicious.

Next was Abalone slices w/ a cream sauce and a 2006 Pra Soave Classico, "Monte Grande." I had never had a Soave before and it was not like expected, very flowery and almost bitter. Nothing like the Riesling we had before

Finally to the reds, a 2002 J. Hofstatter "Blauburgunder" Riserva (from Magnum). A Pinot Noir/ Burgundy style from Italy. Lots of oak and tannic structure ... it took a little air to open up. This was paired w/ the sauteed white Sea Bass. Goes against the typical white w/ fish rule, but it paired wonderfully w/ the fish.

The next wine was a 2003 Martinenga Barbaresco. A beautiful Nebbiolo. Could easily be the wine of the night. It was served w/ the short rib. Wonderfully tender meat w/ a dab of bernaise on top and a mushroom ragout. Absolutely delicious.

And to the cheese course: a raw goats milk cheese, a triple cream, a gouda, and a Roquefort. All very good cheeses. These were paired w/ a 1999 Domaine Berthet-Bondet Chateau Chalon. Again a wine I had never had, the style is called Chateau Chalon, and it is almost Sherry-like, except it's not fortified. It is aged in barrel for six years and is not topped off. Almost 40% is lost via evaporation and a mold is formed on the surface of the wine in the barrel. When it is bottled, the take the wine off the bottom and leave the mold. It wasn't really my cup of tea. But suprisingly as I left the half full glass on the table for the rest of meal, when I went back to after about 30-45 minutes it had mellowed greatly. Not to the point of being a spectacular wine, but it had definitely gotten better.

The first of the desserts was a honeydew melon and watermelon cocktail. A watermelon "martini" w/ a honeydew sorbet floating in it. Very refreshing. The wine we had with this was a yellow muscat, a 2006 Galileus Moscato Giallo, Tilia. Tasted just like an 'orange muscat' ... I'll have to look into seeing if there is a difference between yellow and orange. The 2nd dessert was a creme brulee w/strawberry coulis paired with a 2002 Familie Schreiner Sonnenmulde Trockenbeerenauslese, Samling. The TBA was fantastic, super sweet as the name implies :) And the creme brulee was perfect.

After dinner we made friends w/ the sommelier (Pieter Verheyde) and his assistant and went into the wine cellar and drank some more. We had a 1999 Gevrey-Chambertin out of magnum but I did not catch the producer, it was a delicious Burgundy though :) We also sat in the kitchen for a while and chatted w/ the chef, Walter Manzke.

All in all, a FABULOUS dinner. It was $500 for a five plus hour experience. Would love to be able to afford to do it more often!