Eyes Wide Shut - Day 2

Second blind games of the day:

1. Champagne blind
2. Intermission
3. '19 Napa blind (for the most part)
4. A palate cleanser and dessert

'15 Cristal was the winner here.

• NV Ulysse Collin Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut (2015) Les Enfers 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  Nose: Gentle sea breeze, light yellow fruits, grass and clean subtle minerals.
  
  Palate: Deep yet gentle, ripe yellow fruits, and clean minerals. The saline note is nice here, giving the flavors a nice expansive feel. However, the finish was slightly flat.
  
  The inviting type of champagne, one that lures you in and makes you want more. The salinity here really did it for me. Wish I was tasting this on a cliff overlooking the sea.

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• 2015 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  Nose: Floral fresh and light fruits with white flowers, nice minerals.
  
  Palate: Fresh and gently ripe green apples, nice drying hay and dried earth. Clean fruits on the palate here, along with a distinct, dried, spiced herbal note which adds nice complexity.
  
  Not sure if I would like this with a touch more age or a bit younger. Nice now but also seemed to be missing something, not sure what.

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• 2015 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  Nose: Clean fruits, fruits laden with crushed minerals, light white flowers and a fresh airiness.
  
  Palate: Nice salinity from the crushed minerals, prickly and lightly ripe, crisp white fleshed stone fruits.
  
  This had a nice plus-up since the last time I've had it, with a more intense delivery of the flavor profile. Very clean, fresh and crisp.

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• 2012 Leclerc Briant Champagne Grand Cru Château d'Avize, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Zéro 95 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Nose: A bit of a sour starfruit note, and bit of a stink like slightly sour grapes. Maybe a bit oxidized as well. Loved that.
  
  Palate: Reflected on the palate completely. A bit tart and sour not in a good way. A bit of bitterness from something like the pit of a stone fruit on the palate help soften the sour blow a bit, keeping things a bit more afloat.
  
  This kinda reminded me of a starfruit that's a baby face, turned heel, and then back to baby face with scars. I should've let this sit for a while. Would've loved to see how this would've evolved with some time.

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• NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Grand Cru Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ay La Côte Faron 96 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Nose: Oxidative aromatics here, like cut peaches that’s been left in the air for a while to bruise, almost dried orange skins, and even a bit of pickle too.
  
  Palate: Similar oxidative notes can be found on the palate, with the addition of clean minerals with a bit of saline. The salinity of the minerals is what really helped make the oxidative notes more tasty.
  
  I should've spent way more time with this. Gonna be saying this a lot..

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• 2007 Billecart-Salmon Champagne Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Nose: Light pink cherries, a bit of quiet tartness, decent freshness with a gentle sea breeze.
  
  Palate: Ripe yet light note of blood oranges, clean watery minerals and light earth.
  
  Something on the palate gave this a watered-down aspect, not sure what, maybe the minerals?

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• NV Jacques Selosse V.O. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 95 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Nose: Sweet oxidation, graham crackers with a bale of wet hay and earth.
  
  Palate: This was a bit flat but had good fruits of ripe, aged orange slices, with its stem and leaves. Gently bitter orange skins that seem to give off the impression of dried stones.

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*Mozart's Requiem*

• 2021 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon 100 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Nose: Intense dark red flowers and generous black lotuses (tap to add three mana of any one color), dark red and black fruits, damp earth and gentle and subtle tree bark with morning dew. Beautiful autumnal forest essence in the wake of everything.
  
  Palate: Dark red and black fruits with a velvety, soft, yet gently rich texture. A streak of dark graphite, shiny black minerals and tree bark surface on the finish, with of course, tasty black olives to top it off. A nice bitterness of cranberry skins provide nice contrast to the intense and ripe earthy fruits.
  
  So dark in the minerals and earth, yet so intense and giving in fruit. The softness amongst the dark profile makes this beautifully haunting. Decanted in advance for ~20 hrs.

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• 1986 Château Mouton Rothschild

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Nose: Bright and airy forest floor, lithe mushrooms, used leather and light red fruits.
  
  Palate: Tannins seem completely integrated, light mushrooms and soft light red fruits. Damp soil and rotting tree leaves.
  
  Only had a taste from the dregs of a remaining bottle. Definitely already deep into the tertiary realm. Or, possibly just variation, or maybe it has dove deeper into the tertiary side after getting loads of air from being open the previous night.

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A '16 was thrown in for fun. A lot of these would've benefited from some air. I believe most had the cork popped and slow-ox'd for about an hour before we started.

'19 MacDonald was the winner here.

• 2019 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon 100 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Nose: Dark red currants, barely ripe black cherries, lightly spiced clean oak, and fragrant earth.
  
  Palate: Intense and brooding fruits but with surprising class and sophistication, no kinda sleaziness here. Lifted earthiness and dark minerals help keep the flavor profile proper and regal. Ridiculous amounts of oomf in this, really tasty. This shows solid restraint, only showing off if need be (don't need to at all, honestly).
  
  This was the first bottle of the blind, and as we began tasting, the silence was deafening. The murmuring that followed that silence continued to arouse my curiosity, as I'm sure it did the others. More excitement was built as talks of what this could possibly be was being discussed, and especially being this tasty as the first wine of the blind.
  
  The reveal seemed to came to no ones' surprise. This was that good. I couldn't be for certain that this was the MacDonald because I couldn't find the olive note. Didn't need it though, as this still killed it. Set the bar damn high for this blind.. might've screwed me as well.
  
  Double decanted for ~18 hours.

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• 2019 Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon La Voleuse Du Chagrin Geeslin Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Calistoga

  Nose: Deep, big and ripe blueberries, nice dry earth and a bit of spiced tree bark.
  
  Palate: Dark but light red fruit profile, nicely gripped and a bit tight but not too much in a bad way. Firm and clean spiced oak.
  
  This is one of those where you just know it would be stellar with some air time. This didn't get the air it might have needed.

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• 2019 Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville

  Nose: Ripe, dark red fruits, fruited earth, pleasantly earthy soil, and some spiced oak.
  
  Palate: Deep and dark but light red fruits, deep earth and tasty bitter minerals.
  
  Generous and fun at the moment. You can tell it wants to be serious, and I'm sure with even a couple of hours, it would've been. Should've spent more time with this.

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• 2016 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon Tychson Hill Vineyard 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Nose: Fresh red fruits with a bit of citrus like tangerines, kinda surprising there.
  
  Palate: Dark, spiced and bitter earth with fresh red fruits. Gentle tree bark and wet stones.
  
  A bit generous in the fruits department, which is kind of a shock to me. I would've expect this to be a bit more elegant and fresh. Again, might've just needed some more time. The score may not be fair.

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• 2019 Realm Cellars The Absurd 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Nose: Quiet and soft red fruits, white flowers, and wet mulch.
  
  Palate: Brooding, ripe, dark red fruits, dried and bitter minerals, graphite and wet soil on the finish with some drying tannin.
  
  So generous on the palate, but this might've needed some time to really shine (I'm like a song on repeat right now). The tannin seemed to have indicated that there was plenty underneath all that fruit that is waiting to surface. Take score with a grain of salt.

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• 2019 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon 97 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Nose: Nice restraint of red fruits, aromatic light red and white flowers.
  
  Palate: Brooding while keeping a nice class to it. Gentle twigs and soft but firmly spiced oak, black earth and fruits. A nice touch of ripeness on the finish with good restraint.
  
  Again.. would've been amazing with some time. Something about this wine, might be the essence of oak and wood, reminds me of an incense, but if you can take away that distinct incense note.

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• 2019 Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Elysian Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Nose: Dark red fruits, a bit manufactured, almost like confectionery type of dark red fruits.
  
  Palate: Dark, ripe red fruits and deep dark earth.
  
  The two are on the same page. Bonnie and Clyde doing slutty crimes together. A strong ripeness that some people might dislike. The nose gave something away that reminded me of the Caymus we had the day before.

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• 2019 Harlan Estate 97 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Nose: Sophisticated tightness of red and black fruits, soft but stern tree oak with a bit of dampness. Wet earth and a fresh whiff of dark green undergrowth.
  
  Palate: Black fruits with bitter, black graphite, bitter earth and dark minerals lingering on the finish.
  
  I wonder how this would've done with more time. I loved the seriousness of this: deliberate but controlled. The flavor delivery was quite tasty. Should've spent more time with this.

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• 2019 La Pelle Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Nose: Sweet, ripe red fruits, and deep earth.
  
  Palate: Also ripe on the palate, deep earth with a nice bitterness. There is a soul of dark minerals, giving the flavors a bit more depth.
  
  It drank fine, but for some reason, this gave off the impression that it was a little lazy? As if, it could've given off a bit more. Could've benefited from more air for sure. With the initial ripeness that I detected, I am just truly thankful it did not have that manipulated feel/taste.

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• 2019 Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon The Magnificent Seven

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Nose: Big red fruits, a nice and welcoming whiff of clay, and deep earth.
  
  Palate: Dark red fruits and a nice blend of bitter earth and minerals.
  
  Definitely could've used a ton of air. Don't think this had much, if any, at all. Hard to rate at the moment. Big and delicious, but could use some extra space to spread out.

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• 2019 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon SongBook

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Nose: Spiced and red fruited confectionery with a light touch of vegetal notes.
  
  Palate: Soft red fruits, along with soft forest floor, and gentle berries providing a lightness to the wine.
  
  This was pleasantly soft, given the number of big boys everyone's been tasting. I was curious if given the time, would this have gained more weight or continued on with its softer style. I will never know sadly.

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A nice refresher to cleanse the palate.. before going big again.

• 2010 Château Trotanoy 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Nose: Fresh red fruits, dried stones, and a spiced and prickly forest floor.
  
  Palate: Similar on the plate, completely different than the 09. Crazy how much younger this seems. Fresh red fruits and fresh minerals. Clean minerals and the fresh fruits linger on the finish. Nicely fruited steeped tea on the the finish as well.
  
  Preferred the fresh youthfulness of this over the '09. Did not drink like there was only a year's difference in age, but more like 8-10 years of difference. The '09 was an old soul, this '10 is a young soul.

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• 2015 Sine Qua Non Syrah "M" Eleven Confessions Vineyard 96 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Nose: Biggest fruits of the night with ripe blueberries but with an orange citrus note, softening the blow big time. A bit boozy.
  
  Palate: Dark and flowing earth with dark fruits, blackberries, currants, and dark blue fruits. Tons of fruits. The boozy heat from the nose lingers on the finish.
  
  Thankfully this was served at the end, almost like a dessert. Needed some air for sure, or just wait for another handful of years before opening. 96+

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Blinds are a blast and always humbling. I love how you don't know what you may possible have in your glass and you have to determine if you like it or not, based on what's in front of you. Always a good time.

Shout out to all the participants and their generous contributions, you guys made it happen. A big, huge thanks to Chris for hosting everyone, as always.