So, yeah, this happened.
Not going to go into great detail about how this bottle fell into my lap, but it did, and we were damn sure not going to let it go to waste. So, a select handful of friends and my wife’s family were invited over to enjoy this special occasion.
To paraphrase Sideways: “The day you open a 1995 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, THAT’S the special occasion!”.
Amen to that.
Since a bottle of wine doesn’t go very far 9-ways, I planned a menu of food and other wines to fill out the evening. We were calling this the third of our “big hunks of meat” nights, but it was obviously more than just that.
We started with some assorted Charcuterie, paired with two wines recently reviewed from our Fraser Valley trip.
Glass House 2018 Madeline Angevine
Next up, a recipe from Chrissy Teigen’s book called “Perfect Seared Scallops”. Were they perfect? Not sure I’d go that far, but they were pretty damn good. For this one, we pulled out the first bottle of table wine to ever get a perfect 100-point score from a major critic:
With our next course, Brown Butter Risotto with BC Spot Prawns (delicious!), we selected an underrated California Chardonnay, and also cracked open a Magnum of a BC Pinot that I reviewed a few years ago (and it has definitely evolved to the high end of my range!).
Quails’ Gate 2013 Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir
For the main event (hey, it’s OK to have the main event in the middle of the night!), I cooked Filet Mignon with a simple Creamy Mushroom Sauce (by FAR, my favorite dish of the night), and it paired beautifully with the rest of the above Pinot Noir, AND…..drumroll please……the First Growth Bordeaux!
After finishing up my review of this one, I feel like I need a cigarette.
Kidding. Kids, don’t smoke.
Kids: Also, don’t read wine blogs.
On to the next course, Balsamic Beef Short Ribs that had been developing in our Instant Pot (Slow cooker selection) for most of the day. They were pretty good, but I am just not a huge fan of short ribs. Just too fatty. To go with this, we selected a rarity: A BC Sangiovese!
Next up was some Flat Iron Steak, covered in a red chimichurri sauce. Very tasty! I didn’t even know that red chimichurri was a thing. To compliment this one, we went with two very different vintages of a BC favorite.
The oldest vintage I have reviewed a couple of times, and I stand by the fact that although it is still very good, it is on the decline.
We had never tasted the newest vintage (except as a barrel sample) until tonight.
On to dessert, a simple plate of cheese, nuts, and homemade blood orange gelato (IN-CRE-DI-BLE!!!), two very different wines!
What a night! Writing this has made the memories flood back and I think I need to lay down 🙂
Next up! Still a ton of random bottles to update you on, but last weekend we were up in the Okanagan for a few days, with two huge events to tell you about. First a 12-year vertical of Black Hills Carmenere, and then the annual Nota Bene Release Party! Not to mention we also got to tour a handful of other wineries. It was a great weekend, and I’ll start that report soon!
Confessions of a Huge Wine-R 