Lou and BL & Jason and Lynn came over and up, respectively, to Sonoma to check out a new place on Sonoma Plaza that everyone was raving about, Harvest Moon.
We had a quick spur-of-the-moment meal there a couple of weeks back (when a bartender at a very good restaurant enthusiastically reccos a different restaurant, one should pay attention), and were delighted with the place, so now it was time to go back.
After apps at our house with a Bugey Cerdon bubbly (the other one), all frothy and bright pink, and a 2002 Clos de Papillon Savennieres, Domaine du Closel, somehow fitting in its orangy-bronze harvest color and deep, pungent flavors, we were off to Harvest Moon.
We were seated the very moment we walked in the door, always a good sign. Our hostess, the co-owner, had her six month old daughter strapped to her tummy, so they both greeted us with bright smiles. The room is all hard surfaces so it was quite noisy, but any place packed with happy people having fun on a chilly Fall evening is welcome.
The nature of the food at Harvest Moon is relatively simple, based on high quality locally sourced ingredients prepared to emphasize the essential flavors...what has become known as "Wine Country Cooking". And they do it well.
With the exception of one person who ordered a beet salad, we couldn't resist the soup, a silky smooth, elegant potage of potato and leek laced with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with bottarga (tuna roe). It was wonderful; the perfect way to start a meal. More leek than potato (I think the potato was there more to give texture and mouthfeel), it was warm and satisfying.
With the soup we ordered a Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre 2005 off the list. Seemed the thing to do, what with the profusion of leeks. Classic Sancerre, both crisp and herbal, and a delightful accompaniment to the soup.
When it came time for the main course, we opted for a balanced table: all meat on one side, all seafood on the other. Since I was on the seafood side I can only report that the meat-eaters seemed to be quite happy with their rib eyes and lamb shanks. We of the seafood persuasion were most certainly satisfied with our freshly made fettucine studded with shrimp, clams, mussels, and halibut, tomato sauce and red pepper flakes.
Lou pulled out one fresh looking bottle and one stained bottle. The fresh looking one happened to be Louis Jadot Chambertin Clos de Beze 1990, and the ugly looking one turned out to be Ridge Montebello 1984 (the ugly stains being a flawed bottle of 1975 Mayacamas just above it that had cracked; old Mayacamas: great wine, cheap bottles).
The Chambertin was packed full, intensely concentrated heady ripe fruit, loaded with berries, and had a noticeable tannic bite to it. Clearly Pinot, but brooding, powerful Pinot, with few subtleties to it at this point.
The Ridge Montebello 1984 was, for such a generally poorly rated year, surprisingly fresh and lively. The age had not in any way deteriorated the fruit, but it had softened the tannins so beautifully that the wine appeared young and fresh, yet perfectly mellowed out at the same time. There was a green pepper/cedar shavings smell when the wine was first opened, but a few minutes in the glass alleviated that and the purity of black berry fruit, tobacco and chocolate came to the fore.
Ridge Montebello is truly amazing in its consistency of expression and in its ability to handle age. I t deserves all the accolades and acclaims. All of us thanked Lou profusely for allowing us to experience such a wonderful surprise
I think as much as Lou appreciates and enjoys wine (and he does), there is an equal enjoyment for him when he can share such things with other folks.
After a sampling of desserts (Scharfennberger Bittersweet chocolate pot de creme, Pumpkin cheesecake, and what looked like a fruit crisp at the other end of the table), we called it a night. After the good company, excellent food, a Chambertin and a Montebello, anyting else would be anticlimactic.
