Tim is a bit unusual for a 14 year old. When asked what he wanted for his birthday, he said "dinner at Red Hills!" Red Hills Provincial Dining is one of several very good restaurants in the wine country around the Dundee hills. From the outside, it looks just like an old farm house (which it is). Once inside, you find yourself seated in the main room of the house with a large fireplace at one end.
When we have eaten there in the past, we've been quite impressed with their wine list. In fact, they've received Wine Spectator's award of excellence for several years running. This time, however, we were somewhat disappointed because it seemed that in addition to a good selection of Oregon Pinots, the only international wines on the list were the older and very expensive. They had a 1988 La Tache for only $2000 (no, we didn't get it). We were resigning ourselves to an Oregon Pinot Noir, when Rachel suggested a 1996 Barbaresco from Produttori del Barbaresco. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy a great Oregon Pinot at least as much as the next person, but we can get those anytime. When we eat out, we often like to order wine that we can't get locally. We settled on the Barbaresco, but when the wine came up from the cellar, it turned out that they were out of what we ordered. This happened the last time as well. However, they did have a considerably more expensive 1996 Barbaresco from the same producer but a different vineyard that they were willing to sell to us at the price of the bottle we had ordered. Now who am I to argue with such an offer?
When first opened, the wine was very tight and was really not speaking at all. Fortunately after a little time in the glass, it started to reveal itself in a most wonderful manner. The nose was floral, and we could detect notes of rose on the tongue. It kept getting better as the meal progressed - a dark earthiness along with sufficient acid matched very well with our meals.
Ah, the food: the soup du jour was traditional French onion soup with a cheese covered crostini on the top. The broth was a very deep rich beef broth (the kind that bouillon cubes only attempt to emulate) that was seasoned perfectly. The onions were delicious, but probably could have used a little more cooking. I was the only one who ordered the soup, but all three of us ended up eating it.
Their house salad was wonderful as usual - assorted greens with a balsamic vinaigrette topped with grated Parmesan cheese and finely chopped hazelnuts. For our entrees, Tim ordered the Fillet Mignon with porcini demi-glace and an au gratin potato cake. Rachel had an incredible cassoulet, and I had a braised lamb shank with barley. It was all wonderful. Tim's demi-glace was so good that he even ate most of the vegetables on his plate after dragging them through the sauce (especially the asparagus).
We couldn't pass up desert, and Rachel had the orange cheesecake while Tim and I each had a piece of chocolate espresso tort. I finished it off with a small glass of Fonseca Bin 27 porto.
All in all, another great meal at Red Hills. While we did find a great wine without breaking the bank, we were concerned about their lack of reasonably priced imports. We'll have to keep an eye on the trend next time we go. Next up, a trip to Nick's Italian Cafe in McMinnville for my birthday tomorrow. Stay tuned!
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