Surf & Turf - Fresh caught red snapper with filet of beef tenderloin
We went to John’s Sea Market on Emerald Coast Parkway in Destin and got the smallest whole red snapper they had, which was still large enough to feed our four adults and two small children!
Destin’s immediate history is attributed to a fisherman, Leonard Destin, who moved down from New London, Conn., and settled in Northwest Florida about 1845. For decades, he and his descendants fished and navigated the only channel passage to the Gulf of Mexico between Panama City and Pensacola, known as Destin’s East Pass.
Destin is a place where highest quality freshest seafood is readily accessible - direct off the many charter and commercial fishing boats in Destin Harbor, through numerous fresh seafood markets, and of course, at a myriad of daily fresh catch seafood restaurants.
One of many seafood markets is Sea Market. own and operated by John, a commercial fisherman in his own right. At the Sea Market he sources fresh catch seafood through exclusive arrangements with a dozen local fishing boats - wherein he guarantees to take 100% of their daily catch, and hence has assurance of supply to service his retail and wholesale customers. In addition to the fresh local daily catch that regularly includes Grouper, Mahi Mahi, Pompano, Snapper, Cobia and Sea Bass, he also offers shellfish such as Stone Crab and Wild Caught Scottish Salmon which is flown in fresh from Scotland, and prime and exotic meats.
John also prepares John and Araya’s Seafood Gumbo, and Chowder, and they are especially known for his “John’s Famous Crab Cakes”. His wife Anaya produces a collection of sauces including Araya’s Seafood Sauce, Tuna Dip, Araya’s Thai Steak Sauce, and John’s Roumalade, for pairing with the seafood.
Sean and Linda stuffed the fish with citrus oranges and fresh seasonings including fresh lemon, garlic salt and pepper.
They also grilled filets of beef tenderloin with pineapple and asparagus.
This is from winemaker Greg Brewer who founded Brewer-Clifton in 1996 to produce wines that reflect the geographic, geologic and climatic uniqueness of California’s Sta. Rita Hills appellation in Santa Barbara County.
Sant Rita Hills has one of the coolest climates on the west coast, Sta. Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County, with a long growing season, making it ideal for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The unique topology where the valleys run perpendicular to the coast funnels the maritime influences through the hills to the small appellation that is filled with variations in soil, aspect and micro-climates to produce terroir ideal for those varietals.
Greg Brewer also produces Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay which we have enjoyed in the recent past, another high QPR easy sipping Chardonnay. We wrote about it in these pages in this recent blogpost - Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2023.
We visited the Brewer Clifton tasting room in the town of Los Olivos during our Santa Barbara Country wine experience back in 2023.
Jeb Dunnuck gives their Sta Rita Hills estate Chardonnay 95 points and writes, “I've written many times, this appellation release can stand toe to toe with any Chardonnay from Santa Barbara County.”
This release was aged nine months in 100% neutral oak barrels but any sense of oakiness is muted.
RM 91 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/w?5299506
https://www.bygregbrewer.com/brewer-clifton
Madame de Beaucaillou Haut-Médoc
Madame de Beaucaillou Haut-Médoc 2018
We're long time fans and collectors of the grand vin Ducru Beaucaillou and picked up a case of this new label in its inaugural release.
We visited the famous Château Ducru Beaucaillou during our Bordeaux St Julien wine experience in 2018 and tasted the 2018 release from the barrel. That vintage went on to receive 100 points from Wine Enthusiast and 99 points from just about everyone else. They released this new label for that vintage so we were compelled to pick some up.
As I have oft written in these pages, in top vintages, 'all boats rise with the tide', meaning great Chateaux will produce great wines even in their second and third labels, such that those labels often provide tremendous QPR - Quality Price Ratios, superb wines at a fraction of the price of the grand vin.
Wine critic Jeb Dunnuck wrote about the 2018 Bordeaux: "In short, 2018 is a thrilling vintage with no shortage of legendary wines and I cannot imagine anyone who purchases these wines will be disappointed...It’s possible to find attractive, well-made, even outstanding, wines that punch well above their price points."
With the 2018 vintage, Ducru Beaucaillou decided to honor it’s 300th birthday and its Chairman [chairwoman] of the Board, Mrs. Eugene Borie, for the past decade by creating a new cuvee from her family’s home vineyards. The cuvee is this one, the Madame de Beaucaillou, released in 2020.
This is vinified in the cellars by the Ducru-Beaucaillou team, receiving the same care and attention: the technical winemaking process, selective blending, and careful ageing for 12 months in barrel (including 20% new oak).
Deep garnet-colored, medium bodied, bright expressive vibrant blackberries, blueberries and plum fruits, accented by graphite and a touch of clove, hints of coffee tobacco, cigar and cedar with a savoury round finish with firm structured backbone and sturdy, fine-grain cloying tongue coating tannins that are not for the feint of heart but will impress big Bordeaux enthusiasts.
This was delicious already and I can only imagine how this will be with three to five or more years of additional integration and aging.
RM 90 points. This was awarded 91 points by James Suckling
Upon tasting this, I quickly got on line and ordered the current release of this label, available through En primeur (futures purchase).
https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3662209
