This is a short post this week for 2 reasons.  The first is that there were only 2 games.  The second is that I was at the Masters of Wine seminar in Napa all week.  Between mock exams, lectures, & tasting a ton of great wines, there was no time to work on this. The great wine & food more than made up for it though.

My favorite players the week were…

Offense

Saquon Barkley, Eagles running back

The game couldn’t have started much better for Barkeley.  He ran for a 60-yard touchdown on Philadelphia’s first play.  Then the defense recovered a fumble & Barkley had a 4-yard touchdown run on his second carry.  Things slowed down after that, but he scored another touchdown & finished with 118 yards on 15 carries.

Jalen Hurts, Eagles quarterback

Jalon Hurts completed 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards & a touchdown (to A.J. Brown).  He rushed 10 times for only 16 yards…but 3 touchdowns.  His 4^th & 5 pass to A.J. Brown for 31 yards was just about perfect & an example of how clutch he has been.

Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs quarterback

Mahomes was18 of 26 for 245 yards & a touchdown passing.  He also added 2 running touchdowns including the game winner.

Defense

Zack Baun, Eagles linebacker

Baun helped get the rout going when he punched the ball out from Dyami Brown’s grip & set up Barkley’s second touchdown.  He continued his dominance during the game finishing with 12 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. 

Chris Jones, Chiefs defensive tackle

Jones had a game-high 8 quarterback pressures.  He didn’t get a sack, but was hurrying Josh Allen’s throws all day.  Allen completed only 4 or 13 passes when under pressure.

Special teams

Will Shipley, Eagles running back

Shipley had 3 kick returns for 88 yards, a 29.3 yard average.

My favorite wine of the week was…

Château Cheval Blanc Premier Cru Classé A Saint-Émilion 2018 $650

54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Aged 16 months in 100% new French oak. 14.5% ABV

If you have seen the movie Sideways, you might remember that Miles finally drinks his treasured bottle of Cheval Blanc 1961 out of a Styrofoam cup at a fast-food restaurant.  It’s a poignant moment & a counterpoint to his earlier rant about how he isn’t “going to drink any fucking Merlot.”  Château Cheval Blanc is a Right Bank (i.e. east side of the Gironde River) winery located in the Saint-Émilion region of Bordeaux.  It is considered one of the best wines of the region & is priced accordingly.  It’s a wine that can age for decades. The 1961 is still drinking well today according to those who have tried it recently.  I have not!  You can find one available online for around $5,000 a bottle.  Right bank wines have more clay soils than gravel.  That makes Merlot the most planted grape.  Most producers use a blend with a majority of Merlot alongside lesser amounts of Cabernet Franc, & possibly Cabernet Sauvignon, &/or Petit Verdot.

After the end of the Masters of Wine seminar there is traditionally a Bordeaux tasting dedicated to a recent vintage.  This year was the 2018 vintage.  I tried 50 wines in a couple of hours.  There is a lot of swishing & spitting to go through that many wines & still be able to write coherent notes.  You swallow very little of the wine, which feels a bit like a waste since there are so many excellent wines in the tasting.  There are a few wines that you almost have to swallow though & this was one of them.

The 2018 Cheval Blanc was my favorite of the evening.  It is a massive wine.  Anyone who believes that Merlot only makes soft boring wines hasn’t tried high quality examples like this.  It has big structured black fruit (mostly blackberry) with some blueberry, plum & a nice herbal note.  It has an intense dark chocolate note that lingers on the long finish.  The is a great tension between the taut acidity & the ripe, powerful tannins.  The 14.5% alcohol helps to balance the fruit & tannins but doesn’t feel hot in any way.  For its age, it is a wonderfully balanced wine.  As it develops in the bottle the tannins will become even more integrated & the fruit will start to develop softer tertiary notes of earth & leather.  While the wine is fantastic now, it will be much better in 8-10 years.  If you open a bottle sooner, I recommend decanting it for at least an hour.  If you can wait, it should be a breathtaking wine in about 20 years.  I hope I’m around to try some in its prime!