2021 Clos Castelot

I took my wife out for a special meal for her birthday last night in New York. The restaurant is Manny’s Bistro. The owner, Manny Colon, is the boyfriend of an old friend of my wife’s. He is one of the last great restaurateurs in New York. You will almost always find him at the restaurant, greeting customers, working the room and greeting his regulars. He is always trying his best to ensure the dining experience is first-rate, and he does not fail. The food each time I have gone is wonderful and was priced fairly. The service is superb. The wine list is also priced fairly and is quite a bargain for a New York bistro. Nothing on the list is over $200 a bottle, and the servers are always willing to help you make a selection.

So last night my wife ordered the magret de canard (duck breast) with a luscious blackcurrant sauce. I had the night’s special, pork tenderloin with red cabbage in a wine reduction sauce. We ordered a bottle of 2021 Clos Castelot, a Saint-Émilion, to go with our meals.

The wine itself has a fruity nose with herbaceous notes. On the palate, it is fruity with earthy notes. The earthiness carries through the finish, which is long and pleasant.

The restaurant started us out with bread. I took the chicken liver pâté because my wife refuses to “eat the filter”. The wine was delicious with it. It was a very complimentary pairing with the herbs in the pâté.

With the pork tenderloin, the wine was absolutely amazing. The flavors complimented each other in every way. It even paired with the cabbage, which was tender and cooked such that it complimented the meal rather than overwhelmed it.

With the duck, the pairing was good, but not as good as it paired with the pork. I think the fruitiness of the sauce did not line up as well with the flavor profile of the wine. It was not a bad pairing by any means and did not clash at all with the flavors of the duck or sauce. But I think a pinot noir would have been a better choice with the duck.

After dinner, Manny gave us each a glass of Graham’s 20-year tawny port. I do not have a picture of it, but in the glass it was amber. The nose was subdued and mature, with some subtle herbal notes mixed with the subtle raisin highlights. The maturity carried through to the palate, with a delicate raisin taste and a long, elegant finish. I looked up the price of this at Wine.com and they had it listed for $79. If you can swing it and you like port, definitely pick up a bottle.

Many thanks to Manny and his team for such a wonderful and memorable dinner!