When I heard that the steak house on the ship was named Cagney’s all I could think of was “you dirty rat” as I guess I have watched too many Warner Brothers films and watched Rich Little and Frank Gorshin too many times as well.  It was a beautiful room with polished wood and the big bar in the center opened prior to seating.  

My Bride started off with Crab Cakes with Radish Salad and a Lemon-Mustard crème sauce.  I went with the Lobster Bisque with Roasted Lobster and Sherry.  We started with Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc Valle de Colchagua, Chile 2023. Vina Los Vascos has been owned and operated by Domaines de Rothschild (Lafite) since 1988 in the Colchagua Valley.  The estate is six hundred-forty hectares on volcanic soil and clay.  The vines on the estate are from 15-70 years in age.  The wine is pure Sauvignon Blanc and the fruit is manually harvested, destemmed, and undergoes a period of maceration for about twelve hours, then the must is drain pressing begins.  After cold decanting, the wine is kept in cold storage for two weeks, the must is then inoculated and fermented in Stainless-Steel tanks.  Until recently this wine came from fruit in the Casablanca region, but now from Colchagua and better appreciation and notes commercially.  A soft greenish-golden color wine that offered notes of citrus, green apples and herbs, followed by additional notes of exotic fruits.  On the palate a good medium-bodied wine that offered green apples, herbs and a nice medium count finish of fruit and flint. 

My Bride had a Filet-Mignon with Sauce Bearnaise and we shared sides of Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms and Creamed Spinach to continue with the steak house theme.  She had Le Cellier des Princes Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2022.  Le Cellier des Princes is a cooperative cellar that has been producing Chateauneuf-du-Pape since 1925; and they are the only group in the appellation. There are 180 winegrowers with vines cultivated from the five villages of the appellation: Courthezon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Sorgues, Bedarrides and Orange.  Grenache is almost ninety-five percent of the production, and the balance is composed of Syrah and Mourvèdre (Monastrell).  The soil is basically round pebbles and sand.  The fruit is hand-harvested, destemmed, and a four-to-five-week period of maceration, with daily pumping.  The wine is then aged for almost a year in concrete tanks, so there is no oak, as they are interested in allowing the purest expression of Grenache and terroir.  This is a much fresher and lighter interpretation of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  A ruby red colored wine that offered notes of red currants, red cherries, blackberries, lavender and pepper.  On the palate a medium-bodied wine with tones of strawberry, raspberry, cherry blending with silk tannins and a medium count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.   She finished her meal with a Raspberry Crème Brulé with a Florentine crunch and chocolate twist.

For my entrée I went with Double-Cut Lamb Chops with Pearl Barley Risotto and a Red Wine Sauce.  I went with Dogliotti Barolo DOCG 2020. Giuseppe and Marcello Dogliotti began in 1870 in Castiglione, Piedmont and they became famed for their Moscato.  In 1929 Luigi Dogliotti took over and moved the winery to the present Castagnole delle Lanze.  The winery has continued to be a family business.  Barolo by definition is made from the Nebbiolo grape and allowed in eleven “communes” in the Lange hills.  The basic Dogliotti Barolo from them comes from all eleven “communes;” Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Cherasco, Diano d’Alba, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Novello, Serralunga, Verduno and Roddi.  Destemming, soft-pressing of the grapes, the Initial Fermentation and maceration on the skins is for about ten days with dedicated pumping to extract further color and aromas.  The juice is then decanted twice to eliminate solids, before they begin the Malolactic Fermentation.  The wine is matured in an assortment of different size oaken casks (from France and Slavonia) for about thirty months, with weekly tastings and topping off of the barrels.  The total aging process is two years in oak casks followed by one year in bottle, before the wine is allowed to be distributed.  The wine is a deep garnet color offering notes of black cherry, violets, roses, leather and spices.  On the palate this was a full-bodied wine for such a young age, well balanced with tones of black cherry, sous-bois, rose petals with velvety tannins and a good medium count finish of fruit and terroir.  It also was quite lovely with a Seven-Layer Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream.