Sometimes you get lucky and an event lives up to or exceeds expectations. That happened last night when we tried a new restaurant within walking distance of our resort, The Wine Bar. I had hoped for a good wine list and some decent food, and wow! What we found was a wonderful Mexican and Italian-centric wine list and superb food. Probably in our Top 10 meals ever.

We worked our way through 4-5 small plate servings (shared) of the parent restaurant’s menu (Romeo y Julieta, a great Italian restaurant here at the end of the continent) and two fabulous wines. The star of the meal was the Casa Madero 2016 Grand Reserve Malbec paired with an artichoke gnocchi. I’m not normally a big Malbec fan, but this was a superb wine. Smooth, creamy, fruitful and a bit dry. A solid 99 rating. Casa Madero, the oldest winery in the Americas, comes through again.

Every dish we tried was great. The gnocchi, some risotto with asparagus, a fritto misto and even a small portion of lasagna. With fresh made onsite bread to soak up all the sauces of each dish.

Our second wine wasn’t quite as good as the first – a tough act to follow – but it was still a 90+. A Syrah from Casta de Vinos in the Guadaloupe Valley, one of our favorite wine regions.

All-in-all, it was a memorable evening and meal. But today I think a healthy day is in order. One can only take so much fun.