The Harborside Collection

Legal Harborside, our Boston waterfront restaurant which opened this spring, is intended to provide a unique experience for casual diners, for cocktail and Champagne aficionados looking to enjoy amazing views of the Harbor in an upbeat roof deck setting, and for guests hoping to settle in for the ultimate in relaxed white tablecloth fine dining. In truth, it’s three different concepts on three different floors, each with its own distinct atmosphere, menu and beverage list.

For our second floor fine dining venue, in conceptualizing how we would convey the uniqueness for which we were striving, we dispensed with the idea of a “wine list” (which, after all, is just a listing of wines) and instead are presenting a “Collection” of fine wine that represents some of the best selections available in the world. The Collection includes almost exclusively family-owned producers (to reinforce the proud heritage and family ownership of Legal Sea Foods); it is comprised of artisan wines originating from specific terroirs throughout the world that are compatible with our innovative dinner menu. To convey the true nature of the experience we hope to provide, all of the wines are small production lots available exclusively here, at least in the Massachusetts market. Another special feature: any wine below $75 per bottle is also available in by the carafe, i.e. you can purchase half of the bottle and have it decanted into a carafe at the table by the waiter, or our Sommelier, Seth Thomases.
 
We want The Collection to include some of the finest producers we’ve had the privilege of representing over the years, but we also want it to be, as already stated, a totally original and unique expression. What’s more unique than “you can get it only here?” But what ended up evolving into The Harborside Collection is not, however, just a distillation of Legal Sea Foods’ “greatest hits,” an assemblage of the world’s most obscure small production wineries, or a voluminous listing of illustrious vintages. The relationships that we have forged over the years, and the respect that we have developed for some of the globe’s most skilled wine producing families (from the Cakebreads in Napa Valley, to the Rochiolis in Russian River, to the Zind-Humbrechts in Alsace), enabled us to find amazing wines that are made in quantities too small to be placed into general distribution. To reinforce the connection with the land and with the families that tend it, we present The Collection in a book that features images of the producers and the vineyards where the grapes originate, as well as a brief statement tying the flavors you experience tasting the wine to its specific terroir.

A few examples follow:

Adelsheim “Bryan Creek Vineyard” Pinot Blanc, Chehalem Mountains, 2010

This true Pinot Blanc undergoes a slow, cool fermentation; it features Granny Smith apple, tangerine and lime-like aromas, accented by hints of fennel.  Bracing apple-like raciness accentuates the crisp texture.  Winemaker Dave Paige notes that founder David Adelsheim led a campaign to import authentic clones of Pinot Blanc from Alsace in the late 1980s and that Bryan Creek was Oregon’s first vineyard planted.

Situated at 800 foot elevations on the Chehalem Mountains’ sunniest south-facing slopes, Bryan Creek Vineyard’s clay-loam basaltic soils retain moisture sufficient to nourish the Pinot Blanc vines through summer drought. At these heights the grapes ripen unusually late in the season.

Kumeu River “Mate’s Vineyard” Chardonnay, Kumeu New Zealand, 2006

Earthy with aromatic notes of hazelnut and butterscotch; understated apricot and white peach flavors with a tart, refreshing citrus-influenced finish. Master of Wine Michael Brajkovich harvests the estate grapes for this wine from a 6 acre vineyard named after his Dalmatian-born father. Moderate in alcohol, it is whole bunch pressed, fermented with indigenous yeast, and aged for 12 months in French oak.
 
Mate's deep, heavy clay-loam soils retain considerable moisture, rendering summer irrigation unnecessary. Vine growth is restricted on these north-facing gentle slopes, keeping yields low, while the prevailing cool weather bolsters structure and acidity. 
 
Littorai “Cerise Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, 2007

This low yielding (2.3 tons per acre) mountain site produces small cluster Pinot Noir grapes fermented with natural yeasts. Matured in 50% new oak for 16 months without racking, the medium tannin wine shows distinctive spice driven nuances of clove, black tea, and dried cherry. Proprietor Ted Lemon is a strong believer in western Mendocino as a source of understated Burgundian style Pinot Noir.
 
From an organically farmed southwest-facing vineyard on rocky slopes 800 to 1,100 feet above Boonville with shallow, mostly gravelly clay loam soils; a windy maritime-influenced ultra-cool climate vineyard.

We hope you are able to visit us at Legal Harborside at some point in the not too distant future, and enjoy some wine from The Collection on the second floor.

Sante!
Sandy Block, Master of Wine