hope all is well broski.
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That was the best wine lineup and company! The room was perfect and better than downstairs… staff was great and accommodating, too.
Only one non-stellar bottle the whole night, an embarrassment of riches.
Lots of fun comparisons, especially the Eagle v MacDonald and Eagle v Vatan
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I remember tasting that '10 Vatan Neore after release - it was electric back then - searing really. They were like $55/per or something like that - I need to find all those bottles. Man - the SE sounds delicious also!
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2010 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (4/6/2024)
The most massive, loaded to the gills, SE I’ve ever had! Absolute perfection. The fruit is dark liqueuered berry, cassis…with mocha, leather, barrel smoke…wonderful graphite and licorice dryness…exotic dusty spices. Although massive, it still possesses a seamless plushness to the wine…a perfect balance…that classic SE finesse…SO much complexity and mind blowing joy! And scary to think it might even get better? Best SE I’ve ever had. (100 pts.)
2010 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (4/6/2024)
How good is this wine right now! SO rich and deep with flavor…the fruit is dark liqueured berry, creme de cassis, blueberry…very similar to the 2010 Screaming Eagle had next to it…rich soiled earth, graphite, licorice…integrated wood spice tannins, wonderful textured dryness…SO silky smooth and lush, yet a firm grip…great balance…violet florals, leather, mocha…endless complexities that were totally intoxicating! Seems to have a long life ahead. Just slightly bettered by the 100pt SE. (99 pts.)
2010 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (4/6/2024)
This wine is GORGEOUS…and would normally be the standout on the table, but was bested by a couple Cali wines…the 10 Screaming Eagle and MacDonald! All three very similar…the PC was velvety smooth…dark berried fruit with dried concentration…creme de cassis, pencil lead, new leather, wood barrel spiced tannins…more new world with sweeter fruit, yet lovely licorice and graphite dryness…has that Bordeaux seamlessness, fine grained…super tasty and engaging. Loved it! (96 pts.)
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Was that SE made by Heidi Barrett?
Andy Erickson
Curious about the Rayas wines - did they not show well or were they simply overshadowed by the ‘power’ of the other wines present?
Cheers
Theres the Buzz notes we’ve been waiting for! Freaking awesome!!
2010 SE vs. MAC is a once in a lifetime/bucket-list kinda thing! Love it so much - congrats fellas!
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Absolutely not! Buzz is doing a great job posting after the epic night and won’t get to all 12 bottles so can’t say for certain if he will have detailed notes on the Rayas.
I opened the CdP at 845 am, decanted for 5 hours, then put back into the bottle for the commute. Put in in the decanter once we got to the restaurant and my first sip was 9 hours after opening. It kept changing/evolving over the next 3+ hours. “Piercing” nose of dark cherry, strawberry, blood orange, kirsch, and a herbaceous note i couldn’t place (thought i got an aged balsamic in there at one point). The texture is what stood out the most. The dark cherry and strawberry came through, but kind of a licorice/anise with cardamom and cola/parsnip note. My WOTN and another agreed but SE was the consensus
The Blanc was stellar. 50% Clarette Blanch and 50% Grenache Blanc. The integrated oak though me off as I assumed some Rousanne/Viognier in there. Bright yellow. Nose had a waxy lemon and peach, pear spiced honey. The waxy lemon carried over to the palate, but with more of dried apricot baked green apple. Medium finish with just enough acid to balance the fruit. An excellent wine and thank you Edson for sharing!
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Truly an ‘embarrassment of riches’ kind of night . . .
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2010 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/6/2024)
This was up there with the Vatan as the most intriguing wine to drink. Slight heat at first, but air integrated it nicely to this WAXY pitted orchard fruit of goodness! Wonderful texture…more subtle than power…brightened with lemon squeeze and pineapple cut…apricot marmalade, honey, nice dry salt rock salinity…pretty blossom florals…age has brought out some lovely antique wax and lanolin oil…but plenty freshness and lift…really dug it as it got warmer in the glass. Liked it better than the 10 Rayas Rouge! Blend of 50-50 Clairette and Grenache Blanc. (95 pts.)
2010 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/6/2024)
This was decanted all day…darker and more sauvage, showing black cherry and Kirsch liqueur…some high toned blood orange acidity, dusty earth spice…the fruit not as “pretty” red as the 11 we had last month…still VERY intriguing complexities that kept coming with every sip! Wonderful perfume of florals of crushed berries…some white pepper spice, old leather…rhubarb and red licorice dryness…still has a lot of crushed rock and some tobacco…but that damn 2005 we had a few years ago still has me searching for that amazing red fruited elegance and haunting perfume…this 2010 seems more serious, and probably in need of many more years. Still, a true pleasure to drink one when you can! (94 pts.)
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That’s one hell of a lineup. I mean, why would anyone buy a house, when they could buy these bottles instead! 
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tough critic. i loved the 10 rouge. i really thought it was close to the 05 we had minus the slight bitterness finish (it could have been just me). it was great i thought.
Thank you all again for your generosity. the 2010 screaming eagle blanc was a treat!
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if I may, how was the Macdonald handled ?
2010 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (4/6/2024)
Love me some Marcassin! Sometimes you need a little wood spice in your life! After drinking all those Chablis and Burgs, I do miss drinking these. The 10 is wonderful! Rich and full of butter sauteed apples and apricots…lemon squeeze, citrus oil, pineapple, lifts it nicely. SO much complexities of smoked vanilla bean, toasted campfire marshmallows, butterscotch spice…plenty crushed rock minerality…flint strike…all well in balance, and a delectable mouthful of goodness! (95 pts.)
2010 Peter Michael Chardonnay Belle Côte - USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley (4/6/2024)
Well, this was the oddball dud in the tasting. Fruit was rich and sweet candied orange, brown butter sauteed peach, some nice floral spices…white flowers…but had a creamed corn and asparagus thing going on…and it was paired next to the 10 Marcassin Marcassin, and made it stand out like a sore thumb. Too many great wines on this night, and this was kicked to the curb. (85 pts.)
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I would have really loved to just have dinner with the two Rayas wines…and I could have focused more. I just didn’t get those fireworks on the Rouge like I did on that 05. The other eye candy wines just kept drawing me elsewhere. BIG thank you to BC and yourself for bringing those! They are special, and I hope we can revisit them again. 
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i think the 2010 is like 2 year post release? (2011 is the current release right?)
but yah the 2005 is a fantastic rayas. Tough to drink these with it’s subtle spice and red strawberry nuance vs big cab hitters like macD and SE.
Great line up, great notes too! looks like a fun evening.
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It was opened and then recorked at 9am the day of the tasting
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2010 Philipponnat Champagne Extra Brut Clos des Goisses - France, Champagne (4/6/2024)
I thought this was drinking really well…rich baked apple pie, tart green apple skin, wood spice…plenty of lemon spritz cut…airy leesy ginger mousse coated the palate…really nice mouthful of bubbles. (94 pts.)
2014 Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Champagne Grand Cru Special Club Cramant - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (4/6/2024)
WOW this was bright and puckering! Perfect palate cleanser to all the big cabs we had. Laser beam of lemon and ginger…pretty white flowers, limestone chalk…brisk and in need of something fried! (93 pts.)
2010 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Cuvée du Papet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/6/2024)
Didn’t spend too much time with this one…got a velvet smooth mouthful of dark blackberry fruit, dry fine tannin, ton of black olive tapenade, not much pepper spice…some va heat noticed…backwoods smoke, garrigue. Seems pretty mellow and monolithic right now…maybe more time will awaken. Didn’t help the 10 Rayas was in the room as well. (89 pts.)
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Quite a night, guys!
Any chance of putting names w faces in Post 12?
Thx!