Bear Creek Woodward/Lyon Den
Tasted Friday, May 14, 2021 - Saturday, May 15, 2021 by jkwoodward with 179 views
Two awesome people born 60 and 61 years ago! What better reason to celebrate. A night of "Hedonism" to start, and "Refinement" on the big day. Big bold food with the big bold wines, simple food with the aged beauties. We have been looking forward to this for months! What will occupy my time now?! So. Much. Fun.
The penultimate night to the big day. Big food and big wine. Some amazing cabs and rhone blends. Enjoyed with cucumber caviar bites and american wagyu ribeyes, but the pasties de nata stole the show.
The big day has arrived. Much planning and many attempts to keep a straight face... success! Surprise! So glad to share this experience together. Caviar, charcuterie, truffles, duck, iberico, and dessert to elevate these epic wines. Unless you get it, you just don't get it. Happy Birthday Mark and Denise!
Great wines with great friends. Experiences are what make life worth while. We will carry this one with us always. On to the next great wine adventure.
1996 Duval-Leroy Champagne Femme de Champagne 96 Points
France, Champagne
(5/14/2021)
Lovely straw color, fresh effervescence, pear and brioche, a hint of salt and apple. Nice medium length finish, consistent with my last score. Love this wine.
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2012 Evening Land Vineyards Chardonnay Summum Seven Springs Vineyard 95 Points
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
(5/14/2021)
The cellar raid of the evening. A "little white wine" to fill the gap between champagne and wagyu ribeyes. Coming up on a decade, this was popped and poured, and opened just beautifully with citrus and peach. Good structure and another long finish. Still has time but drinking beautifully. Same score 3 times in a row now, I think I will save my last bottle another 5 years and see what the age does to it...
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2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia 97 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
(5/14/2021)
This bottle was spot on. Coffee and dark fruit, with cassis at the forefront. Good structure for 20 year old Napa blend. Tannins were soft, with a loooong finish, which made it my WOTN. I don't think it could have drank better at a different point in its evolution, just differently.
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2009 Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Vineyard 93 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
(5/14/2021)
Not as much funk as I am used to with Cayuse, but still there. Iodine/kelp still present, blue fruit? Good wine, just overshadowed on this night.
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2010 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Exzellenz Sacrashe Vineyard 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
(5/14/2021)
Brought by the birthday couple, Hall's crown jewel. Good year, came out smashing with dark fruit, cassis, kirsch and powerful at that. So much fruit in this bad boy, still has tons of time. Structure was stunning, with a little heat present too. Can still get better I think. Of the four big reds, this matched up best with the American Wagyu ribeyes, understandably.
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2013 Saxum Heart Stone Vineyard 96 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
(5/14/2021)
So lovely on first nose, wonderful bouquet of tar and leather, cherry and black fruit. A little smoke too. For such a huge wine, it had a nice soft structure to it with everything integrating so nicely. Contender for WOTN, barely lost out to the Insignia for me.
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1961 Cálem Porto Reserve Colheita 95 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
(5/14/2021)
Birthday year Colheita to cap the first night. Almond, sweet fig, hazelnut and a long finish. Plenty of heat. Was great on its own, but the homemade Pasteis de Nata served with it really stole the show. The result was an amazing pairing.
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