Went to Augustine last night after my anniversary dinner. David Gibbs (a fellow WBer) who owns the place couldn’t have been a better host.
I love the fact that you can go to a wine bar and drink older vintage wine. It’s a nice change from the usual wine bar experience. They also have some really great small plates. We had a beautifully cooked snapper in a Kumquat Almond broth and some Tots which really hit the spot while drinking.
Started with a delicious 68’ Souverain Cabernet-Napa Valley followed by a 95’-96’ declassified Bordeaux with a “Pessac-Leognan” label, thought to contain some Haut Brion juice which was fantastic and the night was capped off by a generous pour “on the house” of an 1885 Madeira which David poured us to celebrate 8 years of marriage.
Great spot in the Valley and highly recommended if you haven’t been. Plus you’ll be supporting a fellow Berserker who couldn’t be more gracious.
I stopped in a few months back to meet David, and have to say it was a night to remember! David opened a 1980 Hanzell Chardonnay that I still remember clearly. It had notes of apricot and honeysuckle, and was just fantastic. We also enjoyed a '64 Brane-Cantenac that I completely mistook for a mid-80’s bordeaux.
I hope to be in his neck of the woods sometime in the next few weeks, and I can’t wait to stop in again!
If you’re in the northern L.A. area, a visit here is an absolute must!
I’ve been meaning to visit this place for months now…I follow their IG account and always am impressed with their by-the-glass offerings. Good to know it is legit, now just need to find out how to make this work with living in southbay…
wow…WOW…seriously WOW! What a great place Augustine Wine Bar is. This is the kind of place that should qualify for the Fight Club rule. Last night I visited them around 5:30pm…pretty empty but there aren’t any TVs so no MNF to watch, AC/DC was playing at Dodger Stadium, and well, it was a Monday night. But I felt the love from the staff and the owner, Matthew Kaner. I didn’t see anything that jumped out to me on their By the Bottle Cellar chalkboard, so I asked them to take a look for an older cab. Sure, but while you wait, would you like a splash of a 1996 Ridge MB? I guess so…
Matthew came back with a 1976 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace. Very fair price and suburb provenance. He gave me a splash of a 2014 Hunter Valley Semillion Silkman. Then a splash of the 2004 Arrowood Syrah, and another splash of the 1983 Caymas Special Selection, 2008 Cellars Santamaria Gran Recosind Crianca Emporda Red Blend, 1994 La Tour-Martillac, and finally a splash of 1936 Massandra.
As for the food, a contained offering yet the cheese and charcuterie plate were well done, and the octopus was delicious.
Thank you to Matthew, Frankie and the rest of the staff. Seriously WBers…make the trip to the Valley whenever you are in LA…its special.
David has culled a pretty impressive collection from the cellars he’s bought. I’ve had the chance to taste a few really fun bottles with him over the past year and they’ve all been really good. Been meaning to make it out there… but sherman oaks, I need a visa to get that far into the valley
Hey Matthew, glad you had a nice time, and sorry I couldn’t be there!
I was actually at Press, in St Helena last night (I got a peak at Kelli White’s 1200 page Napa book, which is simply amazing); If you’ve never been, it’s really fantastic.
Look forward to meeting you, and very glad you enjoyed the bar!
So great to hear about this! Shilo and I are always looking for something good in the area and there aren’t many. Definitely stopping by on Saturday evening.
