January 18, 2012: Had dinner with Meredith and her brothers Phillip and Porter. It was a slow night in the restaurant which turned out to be lucky for us. We had the opportunity to sit and visit not only with the onsite wine consultant, but also with the chef, Will Gahagan. The steaks were great and their scallops were exceptional and the service exceptional - thanks to Chris Dick.
THE WINE: We were trying to make a reasonable selection and had that conversation with the waiter and he suggested we bring in their wine guy. We discussed all the usual suspects, Groth, J Phelps, Jordan... But the resident wine consultant, Jason Budd, was pounding the table on a bottle of "Pirouette" from Walla Walla Valley in Washington. It was priced a almost half the price of the other options under discussion, but he assured me that I would not be disappointed. I dont have a lot of experience with Washington State wines, other than some Pinot Noirs and some Chardonays that I have had in the past. All I can say is the man was dead on. This was a superb bottle for the money. After returning home I looked this bottle up and now it makes more sense; this is a creation of
Napa Valley celebrated vintners Philippe Melka (Vineyard 29, Hundred Acre, among others) and Agustin Huneeus Sr. (Quintessa) joined with Long Shadows founder Allen Shoup. Thanks Jason for opening my eyes to the Walla Walla of Reds. For my readers if you hit JH this year eat at the White Buffalo and if you eat there, don't miss this wine!
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