Although I love wine and can appreciate a nice glass, I have not yet developed the skill of distinguishing the subtle flavors and describing its unique characteristics. The wine definitely enhanced the experience at d.k.'s and my friend Dan has been nice enough to offer his expertise so that you can have a clearer picture of the d.k.'s Steak House experience!
Chablis Premier Cru, Long Depaquit "Vaillons" 2002- $48
To start a night of dining I always like a light and easy drinking wine that will pair well with light appetizers. We enjoyed the crabcakes, escargot, seared ahi and monster shrimp cocktail. There was a reasonably priced chablis that caught my eye. The bottle came refreshingly chilled and did not disappoint. The Long Depaquit "Vaillons" was a straight forward, good quality chablis but nothing to stand up and run out of the room to write home about. Initial tastes were very light fruit with mineral and butterscotch. The flavors lingered on the tongue for a short while with a clean finish. I found that it complimented the crab cakes best. 88 pts
Gamay Noir, Paul Matthew “Knights Valley” 2007 - $7.95 a glass
I first met the Gamy Noir "knights valley" at Vino. The varietal is more associated with France and the Beaujolais region, but this one from California and is definately worth a try. Do not let the "noir" label lead you to believe that this will be a light and fruity wine. Although it is mostly fruit forwad as you would expect from an "Americanized" Napa wine, there is more to it than that. After the floral and fruity nose there are layers of earth, smoke, and oak. Unlike most reds, there are little to no tannis with this wine. The sensation associated with tannis is replaced with a tart, lip puckering hint of cherry, strawberry and raspberry. I did not taste this wine with any food but it can definately be enjoyed by itself. 88 pts
Caymus 2006 - $125
I ordered the 2006 Caymus because I had a 2004 and was utterly floored by it. 2004 was a very good year for California cabs in general, but I feel that Caymus is able to come through year after year. After the Caymus '06 cab was poured into the decanter, the fullness of the wine was evident. It is very big on the nose, initially dark fruit but with hints of oak, smoke, and tobacco. You can smell the quality of the wine. First taste after 5 min reveals a quality California cab. It is fruit forward with licorice, oak and smoke but then as the Caymus began to decant, the velvety tannis, chocolate and mineral began to appear and they linger on the palette. I actually found that the tannis were one of the best features of the wine. The longer the wine decanted it became less fruit forward and more tobacco, chocolate and mineral appeared. I ordered the Caymus to match the excessively marbled Kobe filet but having such a rich steak along with this big, full bodied wine was too much. The filet was very lightly seasoned to focus all the attention to the richness of the steak itself. The Caymus may have complimented a saltier steak rather than a rich, buttery kobe. I think a Burgundy would have worked more harmoniously with the richness of the heavily marbled Kobe filet. By itself, the Caymus 2006 cab was excellent. Although it is a 2006, it did not taste like a young wine. I can only imagine what it will become in 3-4 more years. 92 pts.
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