I had dinner with some friends at Chez Francois in Vermillion last night. Chez Francois is a nice place with a great kitchen and a good wine list, Vermillion is a quaint little town on the shores of Lake Erie. I had a gazpacho shooter as an amuse, house made ravioli with lobster claw meat and white truffle butter, a small goat cheese and fiddlehead salad, Beef Wellington with black truffles and cheese (epoisses) after dinner.
We started with 1998 Pierre Peters Blanc de Blanc Cuvee Speciale-very yeasty and appley on the nose, buttered toast and apple pie on the palate with very complex layers of anise, honey, peaches and pears. Lovely. B+
Next a 2006 William Fevre Chablis 1er "Fourchaume" Very aromatic with Asian spices, lemon zest and limestone minerality. The wine was rich and fruity with a good acidic balance to round it out and offset the richness. "B+"
2002 Kamen Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon-inky purple in the glass, nose of graphite, black coffee and cassis. Medium heavy bodied wine with big flavors of blackberry, blueberry, black currants, anise and black pepper. A bit of Napa dust. Quite tasty. "A"With dessert/cheese-Niepoort 10 year Tawny Port-Nice light refreshing tawny Port with toffee and a orange citrus finish. "B"