Event Report:

52nd High Noon Stag

Last year, our 51st High Noon Stag got postponed by a pipe break which flooded the restaurant. The event had to be postponed until January 11th, a Tuesday evening. What a difference a year made. We even got upgraded to the main restaurant floor, which gave as a lot more room to move around.

A great selection of quaffing wines greeted us. Our quaffers are better than most restaurant wine lists. These were accompanied by huge Onion Rings and Chicken Satay with Soy Ginger Sauce. We sat down to begin our non-blind tasting of four Bordeaux: two First Growths from 2004, Châteaux Haut Brion and Margaux, and two 2010 wines, one 4th Growth, Château Beycheville, and a St. Emilion Grand Cru Classé, Château Barde-Haut. Co-host Mike Wilke decanted all the tasting wines starting at 8:00 am, It was a big job with all those bottles, but necessary if we were to get the full benefit of the wines which would have been very closed in had this not been done. One of our guests, Father Taylor Leffler of St. Wenceslaus Church, a second level somm, gave us a short lesson in the famous 1855 Bordeaux classification. It’s pretty unusual that a Catholic priest shows this much interest in wine!

The Caesar Salad had a Patrick Piuze Chablis Terroir de Fleys 2020 which almost seemed Californian, so rich in fruit and non-minerally, unlike most Chablis. It made a good match for the salad. The French Onion Soup baked with Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses was deep and satisfying with our two Pinots: Bergstrom Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir 2018 from Oregon and Lucienne Doctor’s Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands 2018. The earthy flavors of the soup matched those of the Pinot. Our Third Course was a huge 20 oz Prime Bone In Ribeye with sides of Potatoes au Gratin and Chef Rafael’s Famous Street Corn. Again, we had two wines to compare. The Hall Jack’s Masterpiece Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 and Ramey Annum Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, both from Napa Valley, gave us something to contemplate. My favorite was the Hall, which was dense, dark and tannic and intense, great with the steak. The Ramey was a bit lighter in color and not as intense. Both worked extremely well.

We finished with an Assorted Cheese and Fruit Plate with Croft Vintage Port 2011. To top it off, we had a glass of Remy Martin Cognac XO. I was glad I was not driving home! Many Thanks to our Co-hosts, Mike Wilke and Tad Singer, Chef Partner Rafael Ponce and Executive Sous Chef Jose Velasco, and all the wait staff for a well executed and well timed dinner. I’m already looking forward to the 53rd high noon stag!