Penfolds at The Sky Room

Friday, March 18, 2011

The Sky Room at the Breakers Hotel in Long Beach hosted a wine dinner this evening. It has been several years since I have been here and the view is still spectacular. The City government hasn't had an opportunity to screw that up yet. They seem to have gone out of their way to screw everything else up in the city.

Penfolds was the wine of the evening. I was the first to arrive at the table and the wine rep, Matt from Penfolds along with Margaux Pierog the rep from Heirloom Wine Group were already seated. I was poured at glass of Penfolds 2009 Bin 51, Edna Valle Riesling. Nice and dry with a slight sweet hint of fruit. I was also offered a pour of Champagne which was the second label of Salon. It was very nice. I had met Margaux at Delius when they had the Hartford Court dinner last year. Always pays to know the wine rep. She was doing a blind tasting of the champagne to see if she could identify it. Margaux is an Advanced Sommelier.

A small reception in the bar upstairs (steep stairs) was being held so we climbed up. They were pouring the Riesling for this portion along with a small plate that had a raw oyster(very small) on a bed of salt and a Risotto/Mozzarella ball (fried). Then we had to climb down the stairs (steep) to go into the main dining area. This I do not think was a wise decision on managements part.

Dinner was held a very large round table with a stunning view of the shoreline and ocean.

First Course: Grilled Calamari with tempura vegetables and walnut sauce. - they took a tentacle of calamari and stuffed it. The stuffing, sauce and vegetables were good but I thought the calamari was tough. Certainly not the great calamari we have had at the Seafood Palace. This was served with Penfolds 2009 Bin 311 Tumbarumba Chardonnay.

Second Course: Duck Confit Tacos, napa cabbage, black forbidden rice & berry gastrique. The small shell portion (flat) was very hard to cut. Some people picked it up with their hands but I wasn't keen on that as then I would have a very messy wine stem. The Duck filling was very good. The wine paired with this dish was a Penfolds 2007 Bin 138 GMS, Barossa Valley. I thought this wine was the best of the evening.

Main Course: Fennel Herb Crusted Lamb with peppercorn pomme frites. Flavor of the lamb was excellent. But the chops (3) were way too fatty. Served with a Penfolds 2006 Bin 128 Kalimna Shiraz, South Australia. This was also a good wine and a good pairing.

Desert was a Pecan and Cheese Duo - a couple of pieces of cheese on the plate along with pecan halves with a soft cheese sandwiched between. OK, nothing to write home about. They also then brought a small creme brulee tart which was good. Served with a MV Club Reserve Classic Tawny Port.

We then had a pour of the 2009 Penfolds Grange. You could taste how good the wine should be but unfortunately it was going through a "dumb" stage and was not showing well at all. I have had Grange before so I know how good it can be and how long the bottles age. This particular year, 2009, the Grange is 100% Shiraz.

All in all a nice evening with decent food but nothing spectacular. The wines were good along with the company. I would attend another wine dinner at the Sky Room to see if I still feel the food is not quite up to the level this restaurant should be. I do not write off a place because of a "missed" dinner.