Montfort Restaurants

Monday night, Kathy and I decided to get some takeout from Montfort. Montfort is a small chain in the area with restaurants in Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville - http://www.montfortrestaurants.com/ (note the website is for the Oakville location and the one I'm describing is on Upper James and Rymal in Hamilton). Montfort's specializes in Mediterranean cuisine.

We usually dine at the restaurant but tonight I had a bottle of French Chablis that I wanted to try so we decided to try the takeout instead.

Here is the LCBO description of the Chablis-

SIMMONET-FEBVRE CHABLIS 1ER CRU VAILLONS 2005
Vintages Number -41160
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 29.95
13.5% Alcohol
Vol.Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: Simonnet-Febvre And Fils
Release Date: Jul 21, 2007

Description: Domaine Simmonet-Febvre was bought by Maison Louis Latour in 2003 and Burgundian Jean-Philippe Archambaud was quickly installed as winemaker. This fresh, crisp Chardonnay is perfect to sip on its own or match it to a barbecued whole salmon wrapped in foil with a rice and citrus stuffing.

At Montforts' the menu is extensive, the food quality is excellent and both the food and wine are very reasonably priced. They do not have a large wine list and most of their bottles are under $20. The wine we usually have when we are there for dinner is a South African Sauvignon Blanc. Here is the LCBO description - OBIKWA SAUVIGNON BLANC
LCBO number 527465
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 9.15
12.0% Alcohol
Vol.Sugar Content : 1
Made in: South Africa
By: DISTILLERS CORPORATION LIMITED

Tasting Note: Pale straw colour; lightly tropical aromas of green pineapple, guava and pear fruit with pleasant herbal notes; light to medium bodied with crisp, green apple flavours.

Serving Suggestion: Grilled shrimp, vegetable stir fry, or pasta with sun-dried tomatoes. These are the two wines I'm going to compare.

We ordered Hummos, a Tomato and Feta plate and two Montfort Chicken in a Pita. The Monfort Chicken is chunks of grilled and spiced chicken, onion, pineapple and lettuce served in a pita. It is served with three different sauces. Our favourite sauce is the creamy garlic.

The Chablis was minerally, with a good hit of acidity and citrus. It paired very well with Hummos and was good with the Tomato and Feta. The Sauvignon Blanc tends to have good acidity and is light and easy drinking. It also goes very well with the Hummos and the Tomato and Feta.

Where the Chablis gained the edge was with the Montfort Chicken, it paired very well where the Sauvignon Blanc is just OK. I think the garlic sauce is too much for the Obikwa.

If both wines were equally priced this contest would be a no-brainer; the Chablis would win hands down, but as the Chablis is three times the price... I'd recommend staying with the Obikwa and spending your wine money on better things.

If you haven't tried any South African wines in awhile, make the effort, as they are truly excellent values for the quality.

Cheers!

Mark.