Round Pond Wines at Chianina

Monday, March 4, 2019

First wine dinner at the year at Chianina. www.chianina.com. .Round Pond wines are from the Rutherford district in Napa. The owner Miles MacDonnell was in attendance along with several members of his staff and Amy the wine distributor. Amy used to work at Wine Country in Signal Hill a few years back.

We started out with a Poached Lobster, baby carrots and a spring pea salad. All I can say this dish looked absolutely ugly and not inviting at all. The color of the green pea puree was not bright spring green but took on a camouflage color. Won't say what it really looked like but if you ever had kids you will know. I also thought it had no flavor. What a waste of lobster.  The wine was a saving grace. 2017 Round Pond, Sauvignon Blanc. Stainless steel fermented. Nice, bright, a bit racy but a very clean not overly citrusy. 

Second course was a Porcini Chitarra. ragu of wild and farmed mushrooms and percorino cheese. Chitarra means guitar strings. A round , dense pasta. The ragu was good but I thought the pasta was a bit too "al dente". I found it a bit difficult to chew. Also the dish was luke warm.  Favorite wine of the night was paired. A 2016 Round Pond Super Tuscan, Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese. I would have bought a few bottles but it was cases only and at $80+ is was a no go for me. I thought the wine was very good. The Cab softened the Sangio.\

Third course is a Liberty Farm Peking Duck. Roasted breast and leg confit with broccolini and pine nuts. Liberty Farms must be a massive facility. I will have to google them up some day to get more infor on them. They seem to supply every restaurant there is.  I found the duck had flavor but certain areas of the breast were difficult to cut. The confit had very good flavor. This dish was luke warm also. Paired with a 2015 Round Pond, Rutherford Cabernet. A really nice wine if you are a Cabernet fan.

Last course was a grilled ribeye and Chianina beef tongue with spring onion, Yukon potato and bordelaise. Interesting dish. Good but not great. And again luke warm. Last wine of the evening is a 2015 Rutherford Reserve Cabernet. You had an option to pay $35 more and get a pour of the 2015 Round Pond, Gravel Series, Cabernet Sauvignon.  Not interested in $35 for about a 2 ounce pour. I don;t acre how highly allotted the wine is.

For dessert they served Lemon Sorbet which was a nice palate cleanser after a rich meal.

Disappointed in the dinner. My dining companions were also. Wine was very good. Meal was mediocre and left much to be desired.  No bread served.  Same chef in the kitchen. Bryant Taylor has been a Chianina for about 3 years now. Do not know what happened tonight but I hope it doesn't happen again. At $125 plus tax and tip I expect better. 

Chianina has a new floor manager. He was too busy hob nobbing with the "elite" he didn't make time for the paying customers. No hospitality in him at all. The former floor manager was so much better. And almost an all new staff. I saw one waitstaff that has been there for a long time. It looked like everyone else was new. Don't know the reason why. Maybe the new floor manager brought in his own people or perhaps the old waitstaff was not happy with the new manager and left.