Latour earns award: Wine Spectator's highest honor

Hardyston - Wine Spectator magazine has awarded its highest honor to Crystal Springs Resorts’ Restaurant Latour for 2006. One of less than 80 restaurants to hold this coveted title worldwide and one of only three new additions to the prestigious list this year. According to Wine Spectator, their “…highest award is the grand award, which is given to those restaurants that show an uncompromising, passionate devotion to quality. These (wine) lists show serious depth of mature vintages, outstanding breadth in their vertical offerings, excellent harmony with the menu, superior organization and presentation and 1,250 or more selections.” “You can be proud of this achievement,” wrote Thomas Matthews, Wine Spectator’s Executive Editor. “Not only is your wine list one of the best in the world, but our inspection determined that Restaurant Latour also excels in food, service and ambiance.” Restaurant Latour’s mission statement is clear: to establish and maintain Restaurant Latour as one of the world’s best sources for a consistently superior and evolving wine selection, guaranteed wine quality, fair wine pricing, innovative food and wine pairings, world-class wine service and unique wine events. “Restaurant Latour’s immense wine list is presented in two distinctive cork-covered binders and draws from the Restaurant’s private cellar, housing more than 3,000 labels and 50,000 bottles,” said John Foy, wine director. This amazing inventory, 40 years in the making, includes all the best vintages (1959, 1961, 1982, 1990, 1995, 2000 and more) of all chateaus of Bordeaux. Amongst these great vintages lies every classified chateau of the 1982 vintage, save one (Chateau Desmirail). “The philosophy at Restaurant Latour is that wine was made to drink and enjoy! To that end, pricing is kept incredibly reasonable,” said Sommelier Susanne Lerescu. The wine program also includes events for private and high-level corporate groups of 10 to 300, which are held on a regular basis. Examples include evenings of wine tasting paired with local artisan cheeses made from the milk of grass-fed stock and the chef’s seasonal hors d’oeuvres, as well as a cheese croissant cooking demonstration; fall harvest dinners paired with wines; and wild game and wine dinners, just to name a few. Some special events invite patrons to bring their own wines to be tested with Restaurant Latour’s exclusive Wine Scanner prior to consumption. Restaurant Latour serves dinner Thursday through Sunday. The restaurant is open for dinner from 5 - 9 p.m.; 5 - 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 4 to 8 p.m. on Sundays. Reservations are required. For dinner reservations, call 973-827-0548. For more information, call 973-827-1587, ext. 210.