Tablas Creek & Sage On The Coast

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Sage On The Coast restaurant, www.sagerestaurant.com, hosted a Tablas Creek dinner this evening. $60 for 5 wines and 5 courses. A bargain these days. This restaurant had been recommended to me by a "wine and food" geek who really knows his stuff.

A friend who was to go with me came down ill and could not make the dinner so I called the restaurant to find out their policy on singles. They are very accommodating and said it was no problem. I was seated at the the table with the rep from Regal Wines and Jason Haas, the general manager on Tablas Creek, www.tablascreek.com, . A couple who were wine club members rounded out the table.

They served a tray of assorted appetizers and paired it with the 2008 Vermentino. This is a really nice refreshing wine for summer. So far we are off to a good start.

Next up was "Coconut Coated Scallop with Shitake Mushrooms, Roasted Carrots, Coconut Rice, Bok Choy and Sweet & Spicy Sauce". The scallop rivals Delius. I was impressed. The wine was a 2007 Cotes de Tablas Blanc. A blend of several Rhone white varietals. Good pairing.

"Oxtail Ravioli with Spigarello and Oxtail Jus" was the next dish. This was an excellent dish and the pairing with the 2004 Mourvedre was spot on. A perfect pairing. I soaked up the Au Jus with bread and it was great.

The next dish was "Roasted Rack of Lamb with Eggplant Parmesan and Roasted Tomato Sauce. The lamb was rare the way I like it and the sauce was excellent. Very good flavor. I would have thought it had roasted red peppers in it but it did not. The wine was a 2006 E'sprit de Beaucastel, Rouge. Good pairing and this wine is always excellent.

Dessert was a "Peach Tart Tatin with a Tart Cherry Sauce". The dessert wine which was not overly sweet and went excellent with the tartness of the sauce was a 2006 Vin de Paille. Tablas Creek makes such a small amount of this wine that you can only get it at the winery. They do not make enough to put it out to their wine club members. $65 for a 375ml bottle.

I would go back to Sage because I found the food excellent and on the same level as Delius which I make all comparisons to. Delius is my benchmark for taste and quality of food. I do take into account pricing and adjust my comparisons that way.

Sage is past the Pelican Hill Resort by approximately 1 mile at the most. Coming from work in Torrance it took me 1 hour and 40 minutes to drive there. Driving home it was 25 minutes straight up Pacific Coast Hwy. They are hosting an Arcadian Wine dinner in a few weeks and I hope I can make that dinner also.