Bar Dupont: a Local "Find"

Bar Dupont

1500 New Hampshire Avenue,
Washington, DC  20036
(202) 797-0169

2009 Sterling Sauvignon Blanc
Mendocino

You see, I had the pleasure of having a little time to myself after the launch of my company’s premier product this January. Walking home on an unseasonably warm January day in the sunshine, I strolled through Chinatown by the White House and then up past the former “Occupy Washington” encampment.

It was a thrilling winter day in so far as it was warm and lovely. We’ll be having a snowstorm tonight after midnight, so I suppose I felt the need to appreciate what I had when I had it.

At any rate, I sat in the window of my favorite stylish little boutiquey joint on Dupont Circle. It’s a total find for out-of-towners and even locals who normally wouldn’t think to go to a hotel for a drink, particularly at 5 p.m. on a weeknight. I mean, sitting on a hemispherical banquette in a hemispherical bar surrounded with plate-glass windows and nibbling the happy hour nuts and wasabi peas makes for a great hour of self-reflection and blogging

Zipping Past as I sit at my Hemispherical Banquet

Usually the servers here just leave me alone, but today, wow, pressure to buy a drink. Pressure, pressure, pressure! And normally I’d have resisted.  They often let me just sit and blog for a couple of hours, but I took the bait.

I have to admit Bar Dupont (in the Jury Hotel by the Doyle Collection) is not tops on the best wines by the glass list in the city. I have struggled for years here hoping to get a wine that’s worth $11 plus a tip and tax not included. Finally! They have something in stock worth the trip: 2009′s Sterling Sauvignon Blanc.

• Stonefruit, ripe melon, and figs.
• Terrific, straightforward bright flavor without all the pain of the wincing grapefruity citrusy New Zealand Sauv Blancs.
• California has been really getting these Sancerre-styled whites right and there is no better environment than The Dupont Circle Hotel’s front room, Bar Dupont, to taste them in.

Must admit, it’s the space that makes the glass as inviting as it is.  Normally, I’d purchase a bottle of this and look for something more unique, but whether you are seated in the terrific outside seating area under the heat lamps or walking up to the big-ass grand door that looks like it’s just part of the wall, it’s a trip worth making.

Exterior Door of Bar Dupontn

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