Dinner at Chez Simo

Chez Simo Bistro - Chicago, IL
Tasted Monday, October 28, 2013 by tooch with 440 views

Introduction

Met up with Bill, Keith, Jimmy, & Jenna for a nice French meal at Chez Simo. $0 corkage all week makes this a great option for wine offlines, and their food is beautifully rustic. Excited to go back.

Flight 1 (9 Notes)

  • NV Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuis 92 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    Disgorged 3 years ago. Beautiful nose of brioche, cream, pear, and truffle. The palate had great energy and power - seemed to have some of the notes from a "big house" style - the bready tones, the hazelnut, but there was also great freshness and minerality. Super yum.

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  • 2012 Pichler-Krutzler Grüner Veltliner Frauengärten 87 Points

    Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

    A really great base level Gruner. Wachau gruners are creeping up in price, so it's good to know there's quality under $20. Nose was pungent with melons. limes, pears, and peaches. Palate wasn't overly complex or deep, but had some very nice tropical fruit notes.

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  • 2006 Maison Leroy Bourgogne Blanc 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

    Another really nice, surprisingly fresh Bourgogne Blanc. With some air it plumped up a bit to feature some attractive flinty notes. The palate had a bit of the 2006 warmish character, but had nice backend acidic to keep things balanced. Great value.

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  • 2006 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    Seemed a bit off to me. Had some of the salty, mineral-driven chablis character, but it was overshadowed for me by some honey, warm apple, and buttery notes. I've had premoxed bottles of the 2006 La Forest before, worried that that was what we had here too.

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  • 2010 Domaine Lafouge Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru La Chapelle Rouge 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru

    Decanted for an hour before dinner. A great pairing with Chez Simo's mushroom ragout (Ragoût de Champignons, mélange of mushrooms, shallots with Madeira wine). The buttery richness of the ragout was cut nicely by the acidity of this delicious pinot. Great berry flavor, subtle earthiness, and some earthy notes gave this a lot of class. It was stupid that I drank all of my bottles already. What was I thinking?!??!?

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  • 2000 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    A lovely nose of berries, some smoke, tilled soil, florals, and spice. Clos des Papes usually is a hit with me and this was no exception. A real burgundy-lovers CdP, this had an airy feel to the palate while retaining grip, complexity and depth. Lots of spicy red fruits, mushroom, and some earth.

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  • 1997 Maurice Écard Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Narbantons 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru

    Loved it. Perfumed nose of red fruits, florals and earth. Deep and complex, this is a real beauty from Ecard. While the vintage gets a bad rap due to the heat, this retained nice freshness and still had nice structure.

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  • 2010 Domaine Guion Bourgueil Cuvée Prestige 89 Points

    France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Bourgueil

    Took some time to warm up to this wine as it started off super firm. With some air, the floral and berry notes perked up a bit which was nice. The palate is trimmed and edgy with great cut and structure. Dominated by red fruits, you get a real sense of terroir here with its nice dose of earth on the finish. Feel like the more structured 2010s from Guion will need some time to flesh out.

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  • 1999 Château Quinault L'Enclos 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

    Dark, spicy nose that had a fair bit of smokey oak notes underneath. The palate had nice freshness to it with some blackberries, smokey earth, and spice tones. There were some subtle mocha notes that I didn't find too appealing, but luckily they weren't too noticeable.

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