Wine 'N Dine: Alinda's Birthday Dinner at Corduroy, DC

We celebrated Alinda's Birthday at Tom Power's restaurant, Corduroy. Tom used have his restaurant in a hotel on K Street about 5 years ago. He purchased this row house and had it renovated and turn it into this very chic restaurant. It is located just across from the Convention Center. Our reservation was at 6:15 PM on Friday. We got there at 6:30 and there were just a few tables with folks just staring their dinner. Our table was by the kitchen. We said hello to Tom and I told him that I had brought a 1983 St. Julien that we were going to try with the main course. He suggested us to have the 5 course tasting menu and he said that he was going to have the Pork Cheeks and Lamb for the main dish and that he thought they would go well with the wine. I requested our server to decant the wine 15 minutes prior to the first main course.

First Course- Satsuma Imo Soup (Japanese Squash Soup)
Slightly sweet and creamy with crispy roasted garlic and onions.

Cotes De Gascogne, Haut Marin, 2009. 60% Colombard, 20% Ugni Blanc, 20% Gros Manseng. This wine had a freshly cut grass nose. On the palate was full body with sweet finish which was a nice pairing with the soup.

Second Course- Tuna Tartar with Crispy Shallots and Mountain Potato- Very elegant presentation with micro greens. What was interesting were the little crispy mountain potato cubes that gave this dish an added crispy texture. We carried the same wine with this dish as well which was a good pairing.

Third Course- Seared Sea Scallops with Anson Mills Antebellum Grits- The sweetness of the caramelized scallops worked well with the creamy sweet grits and the wine went well with this course as well.

Fourth Course- Braised Pork Cheeks Osso Bucco Style with Tarbais Beans- The sauce on this course was complex with peppery notes that was phenomenal with the wine!

1983 Chateau Gruaud Larose, Saint Julien, Bordeaux- Second Growth. Deuxieme Grand Cru Classe in 1855. This is a perfect example of a fabulous Bordeaux. This wine was decanted about 15 minutes prior to pouring. Color- dark opaque red, with no significant amber ring. First nose, leather and cedar box; second nose, roasted vanilla, blackberries, licorice and china ink. On the palate, big body, mouthful, with notes of pepper, spice and ripe fruits with long long long finish! Wow, even better that the 1983 Margaux and the 1982 Petrus! This one goes in the books! What was amazing that the peppery notes of the Pork Cheeks sauce was a perfect pairing with this wine!