![]() So it was a tall order to select a wine that would complement Sullivan steaks during a special occasion dinner up against the legendary Opus One. We love the Spring Mountain expression of terroir which I believe is as complex and flavorful as the other popular mountain appellations. Being huge fans of rich concentrated extracted mountain fruit, we hold Pride Cabernet going back to the mid-nineties. We've enjoyed Pride since and often 'gift' Pride to friends on special occasions. We visited Pride Mountain Vineyards and Winery high atop Spring Mountain of the Mayacamas Range overlooking Napa Valley to the east, and Sonoma Valley to the west during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 1999 and again in 2003. Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Had the fruit held, I would have given this a 95. The fragrant finish continued to linger for minutes. Decanted, over the course of the evening the fruit became slightly muted giving way to classic left bank Bordeaux earthy leather, but never losing its harmonious balance. Elegant, complex, smooth and polished it was a symphony of black fruit flavors accented by harmonious tones of leather, tobacco, lead pencil and soft tones of cassis and a hint of mocha. It opened with a huge nose, reminiscent of a classic Margaux from the mid-eighties. The Opus was dark inky purple colored, medium to full bodied. Tonight, the 1996 was at its prime and showed off the best of what OPUS can be. In fairness, I think many of our OPUS encounters that left something to be desired were due to drinking it too early, too young. Tonight, OPUS lived up to all the hype and exceeded all expectations. I admit I've often considered OPUS as over-hyped, over priced and over played, the choice of image conscious drinkers with more money than taste. The joint venture of the two masters of these top wine producing regions, Baron Phillip Rothschild of Mouton Rothschild from Bordeaux and Robert Mondavi from Napa Valley. The finale to the gala evening was a cellar tour (pictures coming). Aaron provided superb service - cordial, attentive, informative and gracious in decanting and appropriately handling of the wines. We added cheddar au-gratin potatoes and creamed spinach side dishes. The chocolate and berry deserts were spectacular. The spinach and dinner salads were perfect. Naturally we all dined on Sullivan's aged prime steaks - Bill the mushroom stuffed filet with Bordelaise sauce, Beth had the filet, Linda, the filet with the peppercorn cream sauce and I had the filet, artfully prepared 'Pittsburgh' style with lobster tail surf and turf. The wines were all spectacular and paired perfectly with the food. Prior to dinner Bill and Beth treated us to Tattinger Champagne. ![]() To round out our dinner feast we selected from the wine list Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2010. Also, that was the vintage we tasted on our first visit to OPUS during our Napa Wine Experience 1998. I chose a '96 vintage following our horizontal tasting from that vintage the other night. ![]() For the occasion I pulled from the cellar a wine befitting the occasion, OPUS One. To celebrate our anniversary, we dined at Sullivan's Naperville with dear friends Beth and Bill C. ![]() Opus One Pride Highlight Anniversary Dinner ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |