Dinner - "The Palisades" (Old World vs. New World Cabernet Sauvignons)

This was my first time hearing of The Palisades restaurant in Eggleston, VA. It is located about 10 miles south of Blacksburg, VA heading west on 460. When you are driving, you feel like you are lost but have hopes that some random strip mall will appear where this restaurant is hidden. Except that never happens. It is sudden, but the restaurant is on a residential road among the mountains and houses of this rural town. It is in a refurbished hardware store so you can imagine how fantastic the building is. The parking consists of 10 "spaces" on a gravel/grass area located directly in front and to the side of the building.

The outside of the restaurant

The Palisades does a special wine and food pairing evening every Thursday with a particular theme for the event. For the week we went, it was a comparison of Old World versus New World Cabernet Sauvignons. The wine list was as follows: Bodegas Nekeas from Spain, Dante Reserve from California, and Buitenverwachting from South Africa. The appetizers for the evening were: a seared butternut squash with caramelized shallots, a truffled lamb ravioli, and a blue cheese tart with a celery salad.

The sheet given to us with the wine descriptions

We tasted each of the wines first and then tasted each wine with each appetizer. I'm going to post a picture of each wine with our comments and then a picture of each appetizer with comments from each pairing.

Each of the 3 wines for the tasting

First up was the Bodegas Nekeas Cabernet Sauvignon from Navarra, Spain (far left).

The glass of Bodegas Nekeas

I thought this wine was fantastic! It had a very full and rounded aroma. I tasted cherry, pepper, and a little bit of sweetness from its subtle fruity flavor. I found it to have a very nice finish and could probably have opened up significantly if given the time to breathe. We were so impressed with this wine and the appetizers that we actually specially requested a bottle of this wine to have with the fig and parmesan pizza we ordered after finishing the tasting. Quite delicious!

The bottle we bought!

The second wine we tasted was the Dante Reserve Cabernet from California (in the middle).

Glass of the Dante Reserve

The first thing I noticed upon first look at this wine was that it looked a little thinner than the Spanish wine. It was more of a translucent cherry color rather than the thicker, opaque cherry of the first wine. However, upon tasting it I did not find it to be light bodied. It was more of a medium bodied wine. The only flavor I could pick out of this wine was the currants. It seemed a little one-dimensional to me. I wasn't that impressed.

Lastly, we tasted the Buitenverwachting Beyond Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa (far left).

The Buitenverwachting

This wine had a very overwhelming tobacco aroma and flavor. I personally was not a fan of this one. It was very peppery, light bodied, and light on the cherry, currant, and fruit flavors. The heat and acidity of this wine was also coming through for me. It didn't seem nearly as well balanced as the Spanish wine.

Underneath each picture of the labeled appetizer, I have each wine followed by a colon. After the colon are the notes of the flavors I thought were brought out by that particular appetizer.

Seared butternut squash with caramelized shallots

Seared butternut squash with caramelized shallots

Bodegas Nekeas: less sweet, more peppery and tangy
Dante: more full bodied and smooth flavor
Buitenverwachting: For some reason, the licorice was really overpowering with this pairing!

Truffled Lamb Ravioli

Truffled Lamb Ravioli

Bodegas Nekeas: The cherry flavor seemed especially pronounced with the ravioli for this wine

Dante: The currants in this wine seemed way more prominent than with the squash or by itself

Buitenverwachting: The licorice flavor was significantly muted and therefore allowed some of the more fruity flavors of the wine to come through

Blue Cheese Tart with Celery Salad

Blue Cheese Tart with Celery Salad

Bodegas Nekeas: The smooth creaminess of this wine came through very strongly with the tart. I think it was because of the creamy cheese on the tart.

Dante: For some reason, this one seemed much more peppery and sharp rather than smooth and creamy with the tart.

Buitenverwachting: The licorice was tamed down with this pairing as well and made the wine a little more smooth and tolerable for my palate.

Overall, we were very impressed with this hidden gem. The tasting and food was fantastic and the environment of the restaurant was one-of-a-kind! The antique ambiance and friendly staff, along with great wine and yummy food made for a wonderful evening!

Me thinking and writing my notes

My boyfriend, Chris, enjoying the tasting