DAOU Wine Pairing Dinner (12/14/23)
I did not think I would get to make a Limelight dinner post in the winter, but here we are.
As mentioned before, once in a while, the Limelight Hotel in Snowmass, CO, hosts a spectacular pre-fix set menu created by Limelight Chef David Rabatte with drink pairings for a fraction of what it would cost otherwise.
This time around, Limelight teamed up with DAOU Vineyards, a wine-making company based in California that was started by Georges and Daniel Daou, who utilize the fertile soil and climate of the Central Coast which features warm days and cool nights to produce spectacular wine that hit the liquor store shelves all across the country.
At this dinner, DAOU Vineyards provided the wine and Limelight provided the food for a 4-course dinner that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Join me as we dive into this delectable dinner and explore the many wonders that it brought.
The Wine
It wouldn’t make much sense to talk about DAOU Vineyards without discussing the fantastic wine varieties served that night. There were four wines that progressively got darker with each proceeding course, and there was not one that I wouldn’t purchase myself if I wanted to make dinner guests or myself feel special. Here is each wine that was served in the order that they were served.
2022 Discovery Sauvignon Blanc- For a light, refreshing way to start the evening, our first pour was a fairly young but fully flavored Sauvignon Blanc that is a rendition of Paso Robles Sauvignon Blanc. First, you get a very fruity aroma with notes of grapefruit, pineapple, and balancing notes of lychee, followed by a crisp taste that bursts on your palate, giving you notes of lemon, kiwi, and accents of green apple. It was the perfect way to start the evening.
2021 Chardonnay Reserve-Following the light and crisp Sauvignon Blanc, we now head to a slightly darker but still very light Chardonnay Reserve from a blend of exemplary lots from DAOU. I’ve always been a Chardonnay fan, but this one from DAOU might have taken a top spot in my list of best Chardonnays I’ve tasted.
The inviting aroma features notes of lemon chiffon, rich pineapple, hibiscus flower, and a hint of clove for a fruity, floral, slightly spicy scent that wakes up your palate for great things to come. Each sip provides a smooth mouthfeel that’s very easy to drink along with equally delicious flavor notes of nectarine, vanilla bean, pineapple, and impressions of hazelnut and Bosc pear to keep the palate excited.
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve- Taking a darker turn into the red side of the DAOU wine world, we now go into sips from the wine that the Daou brothers pride themselves with, and that’s their Cabernet Sauvignon. Georges Daou himself has stated “We will stop at nothing to produce the best Cabernet Sauvignon in steadfast service to DAOU Mountain and its incomparable terroir (the soil and climate that wine grapes grow in.)”
To little surprise, the brothers delivered last night with their rich, deeply flavored Cabernet that is barrel aged for 21 months in French Oak, giving the wine complex aromas of tobacco, cranberry, raspberry, and toffee. However, after letting the wine breathe for a few hours after opening, even more aromas, such as chocolate and cinnamon, are awoken, and one can only imagine how that affects the taste. Blueberry, cherry, toasted almond, hints of graphite, all of this comes together for the perfect celebration wine.
2021 Pessimist Red Blend- To finish off the wines and to pair with our dessert for the evening, DAOU’s uniquely flavored Pessimist Red Blend. I do need to state that all of the wine varieties served at the dinner were fantastic, but this one wrapped it all up perfectly.
Right out of the bottle you are hit with dark, deep aromas of blueberry and black plum layered with scents of truffle, cardamom, and accenting hints of eucalyptus and and cherry pie tobacco. One sip of the Pessimist, and you are taken away with a true powerhouse of flavors, generous flavors of black cherry, blueberry creme de cassis, and forest floor, complimented by notes of lavender, anise, and black olive. It’s a very smooth but bold wine that ties up all of the wines for the evening beautifully.
Welcoming Course-Octopus Carpaccio
As if all of the stunning DAOU wines weren’t enough, every course of food that was served brought big, bold flavors that complimented each wine perfectly, starting with the pairing dish for the Sauvignon Blanc and our welcoming tasting course for the evening, octopus carpaccio with peach jelly, avocado oil, red onion, arugula, lime, and ponzu.
Octopus is a delicacy that I have only experienced a handful of times, but never before have I tasted it raw. If you’re a picky eater, then you might turn this away before even saying hello, but I can tell you that it was excellent!
The octopus itself had a very mild flavor and a nice amount of chew to it while still being very tender, something that isn’t even easy to pull off with cooked octopus. Then the bright, citrus flavors of the lime and the ponzu sauce come in to give the dish a lovely ceviche-like flavor that paired wonderfully with the fruity Sauvignon Blanc.
Course 1-Duck Taco
I know what you might be thinking: “Wait, a 4-course wine pairing menu and you’re being served a taco? Is the Chef out of his mind?” I can’t say whether or not he is, but I can say that, yes, we were served a taco, and yes, it was incredible.
There was a lot going on on that small plate, but underneath the taco was a white bean dip with a bit of what had to have been black sesame oil drizzled around the edge. The taco itself was filled with bits of duck and pickled onion, and rather than your typical tortilla, it was stuffed into a savory saffron tuille.
Given the tuille, it wasn’t really a taco that was meant to be picked up and eaten with your hands, but the amount of flavor that it packed was outstanding! The tender duck, the earthy saffron in the shell, a slight kick of acidity from the onions, and all sitting on that smooth and flavorful bean dip that might as well kick hummus’ butt.
Paired with the Chardonnay Reserve from DAOU, and it was a flavor bomb that my taste buds could barely handle.
Course 2-Beef Short Rib Hammer
This massive lump of meat you see in this photo might look like it was made for a T-Rex, but it was the dish of the night: Braised beef short rib hammer (Presumably named for that massive bone on the plate that Fred Flintstone might’ve used.) with spaetzle, thin slices of tri-colored cauliflower, and a truffle demi that was paired with our Cabernet Sauvignon.
Where do I begin with this beautiful monstrosity? The beef short rib itself was so fall-apart tender that I didn’t even need teeth to eat it, the spaetzle, a German pasta, was plump and absorbed the juices from the short rib beautifully to give it even more flavor, the raw cauliflower on the plate was a nice touch to give some freshness and a bit of relief from the rich short rib, and that demi on the plate hugged the short rib and set the flavor over the edge.
I know I said that the aforementioned duck taco was a flavor bomb, but this was a whole New Year’s Eve fireworks show of flavor that was ignited by the DAOU Vineyards Cabernet. In fact, Chef David took the dish to a few local restaurants in the Snowmass area, and they all said it was mind-blowing as well.
Dessert-Poached Pears with Chocolate
Sadly, all good things must come to an end, but in this case that end was nothing short of perfection. To pair with our Pessimist Red Blend, we were all served a beautiful poached pear on top of a blueberry compote and some pecans, all served with a little jug full of hot chocolate ganache to pour on or around the dessert or our mouths as we please.
This dessert is a rather simple concept but done in an elegant and delicious way, the pear itself was perfectly soft but still held its shape, the blueberry compote gave the dish a bit of fruitiness and acidity, there was a bit of crunch from the pecans, and that dark, rich chocolate ganache was the perfect thing to round it all out.
As long as Limelight Hotel keeps cranking out these incredible dinners then I will keep writing about them, because this one, like all of the other dinners I’ve experienced, was nothing short of perfection.
