Wines and Steakhouses

This past week has been a week of steakhouses. I went with bunch of co-workers to two highly rated steakhouses in Indianapolis - Eddie Merlot's and St. Elmo's. Eddie Merlot is an upscale steakhouse with a great decor and ambiance, very attentive service and great food with great presentation. St. Elmo's apparently is an Indy institution in downtown - established in 1902, it is currently housed in an old downtown building with retro signage and ambiance, crowded and noisy dining halls leading to what I considered not so attentive service, good food with presentation that left a lot to be desired. Of course, being a modernist, I preferred Eddie Merlot's.

Of course, we had some good wine at these steakhouses.

1. 2006 Villa Antinori Toscana (Italy) - My first super tuscan and I liked it. This wine is a blend of Sangiovese (55%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), Merlot (15%), and Syrah (5%) and is aged in French, American and Hungarian oak. Full-bodied, Blackberry on the nose with a very soft, velvety palette.
2. 2006 J. Vidal-Fleury Côtes du Rhône (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France) - Decent Côtes du Rhône with red fruits on the nose and a smooth palette and a short finish.

Besides these two wines, I had the following wines in the homy ambiance of my home-sweet-home.

1. 2009 Hall Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley, CA, USA) - All I can say is, I am still not so sure about this varietal.
2. 2009 Montgras Reserva Carménère (Colchagua Valley, Chile) - Deep purple in color with spicy aroma and soft tannins. Did I mention before - I LOVE Carménère