North of Redding, California and just south of Mount Shasta is a tiny town with some amazing restaurants. Dunsmuir is located just off I-5 and near the Castle Crags in the Cascade mountain range (and I recommend the state park if you like hiking, it is beautiful, serene, and not heavily visited.) The downtown area is several blocks long, has railroad turntable for railroad buffs, a very cool Ace Hardware with very interesting inventory, and two of my favorite restaurants. The Cornerstone has the most inventive and delicious breakfasts I have ever had anywhere. However, this is wine blog, so I'm focusing on Cafe Maddalena, where had dinner.
The Cafe is tiny, not more than nine or ten tables tucked into the front room, with the chef cooking in a corner of the room in what seemed to me to be an impossibly tiny kitchen. Proof that wonderful things come from small packages. The food and service were what you would expect from a fine dining establishment in San Francisco or Napa.
What I drank:
Cotes du Rhone Belleruche (by the glass)
The nose was a soft-to-medium body lift of blackberry and plum with a hint of white pepper. The wine was very well balanced, starting with flavors of blackberry, dried cherry and plum, moving cinnamon and pepper mid-palate, and finishing smoothly and elegantly with lingering spice. The wine was a perfect complement to my entree of rabbit loin in pancetta polenta with a ragu of portabello mushrooms and tomatoes.
It was the kind of dining experience that is so memorable, I can still taste the wine and the food, and remember the warm, welcoming atmosphere and the friendly staff. In fact, I believe it is time for a return trip.
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