sequoia x clay dinner 6/23/2026
Sparkling
producer: BXT (Bubbles by Tom), winemaker Tom Sherwood, Napa Crusher District cuvee: California Immersion Brut (zero dosage, no added sulfur) geography: California, USA (blend of 7 organically farmed vineyards). as of 2024 there were 4 vineyard sites: Manley (Carneros), Yount Mill (Yountville), Wheeler (San Benito) and MacCormack (Solano) grape: 46% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay, 16% Pinot Meunier vintage: 2024 harvest (labeled NV/vintage blend; hand-bottled Feb 2025) tasted on: 6/23 bought from: free from this dinner MSRP price: ~$48 (Back Room lists the 2024; confirm your actual) source: leons / k&l
Notes
- 👍 i liked it a lot,
- 👀: straw yellow with bubbles
- 👃: very pretty nose that reminded of burgundy. didn't pick up the lees or maybe i'm confusing with oak again ...
- 👅: structure = quite lean, wasn't getting a lot of body but maybe this is because of bubbles? had a white burgundy chard quality (struck match? but reading the spec sheet it doesn't say reductive...) to it that i love. remember thinking there was some oak. good tart fruit, not a ton of minerality.
Wine 2 - white
producer: Weingut Joh. Bapt. Schäfer (Sebastian Schäfer), Burg Layen, Nahe; collab with Atomic Workshop (SF restaurant group behind State Bird Provisions, The Progress, The Anchovy Bar) cuvee: Riesling Trocken (dry), Atomic Workshop x Schäfer house bottling geography: Nahe, Germany grape: Riesling (100%) vintage: 2024 tasted on: this date bought from: free price: $17 glass / $85 bottle at The Progress source: claude
Notes
- 👍 i like it. but very lean needs food otherwise too acidic
- 👀: straw yellow. bottle looked like screw cap
- 👃: not a ton of petrol but some. didnt smell too hard
- 👅: dry. structure = lean. fruit = zippy. high acid, was a little hard to keep drinking by itself. feels like it needed more balance.
Wine 3 - red
producer: Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, a famous Saint-Julien Second Growth (1855 classification); their grand vin is iconic ($150-250+). "Madame de Beaucaillou" is their affordable Haut-Médoc bottling, named for matriarch Madame Eugène-Borie cuvee: Madame de Beaucaillou (inaugural 2019 vintage; plots in Cussac-Fort-Médoc) geography: Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France grape: 68% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc Alcohol = 13.92% ABV, 12 months French oak (20% new) vintage: 2019 tasted on: this date bought from: free price: ~$25-35 US retail source: claude Scores: James Suckling 92, Decanter 91, Wine Advocate 90, Jeb Dunnuck 90.
Notes
- 👎 did not like it
- 👀: purple, high density of color (opaque), didnt check legs
- 👃: chocolate, cant remember the fruit, med+ intensity of aroma. quite pretty. did not sense "big" alcohol (checks out with 14%)
- 👅: dry. fruit = cooked. structure = med+ body, med+ tannins, tannins seemed unpolished. disconnect between the nose and palate. did not like how it tasted because i think it was missing the fruit i like / the oak and chocolate didn't carry over
- other: surprised this was 2019,