Proposed Melb Offline: Aged Coonawarra Cab/blends

[mjs]

John,

Unfortunately I am now not available for this, for the same reason I couldn't make it initially (family birthday, which I thought I could jiggle around, but not now).

Disappointed given I am a bit of a self appointed Coonawarra-phile, would have been able to bring some interesting stuff I am sure.

Hopefully the night goes well and generates a bit more interest in off-lines in Melbourne - which have been pretty quiet of late.

Cheers
Malcolm

[cuttlefish]

Well if it makes y'all feel any better, we're definitely in, and bringing a cracker

[Softie]

Guys

Sherry and i are bringing 2 x Penley 2000 and 2005.

I'll summarise wines of attendees ASAP - say within 24 hours.

Also could folks get their deposits in soon please and an email nominating wines so I can plan the flights?

Warm regards
John

[Softie]

Hi All,

I am getting excited. Here's the numbers and proposed wines as they stand as I post.

13 paid deposit and 3 more expected to come based on firm expressions. Total expected 16.
(Me and Chardonnay Princess, Sparky, Cloth Ears x 2, Ben x 2 and Dennis x 2 and Alex x 1 from my CellarTracker friends, Cuttlefish x 2, Paulf, LGW x 2, Simon1980) = 16.

Likely Wines [I propose we serve them blind on the night]

Pre-sit down from 6:30pm ... Champagne for 2 x 750ml [Vintage/NV unknown] Henri Chauvet Reserve

Entrees ........................ 1500ml x 3 [Yattana vintage unknown; 2001 Art Series; 2006 Reserve Coldstream Hills]

Mains ...........................1500ml x Cabs/blends [94 John Riddoch; 98 Di Giorgio; 00 and 05 Penley Estate; 2004 Mildara Rothwell]

Well! Champagne then three superb Chardonnay's from three different states, then five Cabs [two under 10 years old; two over 14 years old]

Thanks to Sparky (Sommelier) and Cloth Ears (money collector) for volunteering their services.

John

[simon1980]

John,

The Henri Chauvet is NV. A grower in Rilly. Mainly based on 2008 and 2009 vintages. Chardonnay dominant, but with some PN and PM. 100% Grand Cru vineyards. Disgorged at the end of last year - a (welcome) recent addition to Henri bottles is a laser etched disgorgement date on the bottles.

Hope it's on form. Only shipped in a couple of months ago...and I prefer to leave 6 months to develop a little more complexity before opening.

See you on Saturday. I'm very much looking forward to it.

simon1980

[via collins]

I'm an apology as well I'm afraid. Family events can be a trump card.

Bloody shame, especially given the quality of that line-up.

Have a good one, and travel home safely!

[Softie]

Hi All,

The menu - note served "family style" for sharing.

John

THE MOAT


SET MENU B - $45

COURSES ARE SHARED
FAMILY STYLE

3 cheese fondue with herb grissini (V)

Salted cod brandade with parmesan cream & sourdough crostini

Charcuterie plate with pickled vegetables & sourdough

Confit boneless chicken wings, celeriac puree, truffle foam
& crispy chicken skin

.................

MAINS

Braised Wagyu beef cheek with celeriac truffle puree & bacon lentil vinaigrette (GF)

Forest mushroom ragout, baguette, truffle oil (V, DF)

Fish Pie w saffron potato & leek

Duck fat kipfler potato with garlic & thyme (GF)
Rocket Salad – Sicilian green olives, fetta, roma tomato, red onion & truffle oil (GF)

DESSERT

Chocolate & olive oil delice with house made sweetened condensed milk &
salted peanut crumble (GF)

Cinnamon donut panna cotta with coffee soil & honeycomb

[Softie]

... and ...

Please remember to, where advisable to decant, to do so at home to avoid the risk of too many wines, too few decanters at our venue.

Cheers,

John

[LGW]

The menu looks great John! Looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow.

[bendid]

Just checking in, looks to be a good line up. See you all tonight.

Ben

[cuttlefish]

See you tonight, everyone. Just decanting now...

[TiggerK]

Two days later, no comments, event obviously got cancelled, or attendees all still in bed.

[LGW]

Two days later, no comments, event obviously got cancelled, or attendees all still in bed.

Very much the latter i think! I was we'll and truly comatosed by the end of the night!

It was an excellent night and was great meeting everyone who attended. I'll be very brief as I'm sure John will summarise the night in detail.

My (very biased) WOTN was the 01 LEAS. Quite shy on the nose upon opening but after sitting in the glass for a while it developed quite a complex nose. I thought it was the length and intensity of the pallet which left the other two Chardonnays in its wake. Filling every corner in the mouth, the flavours lingering on and on.

My red WOTN was the 04 mildara rothwell. Beautiful cabernet with great balance and intensity...lovely fine ripe tannins.

Thanks again John for organising the night, hopefully this will be my first of many to come!

[Cloth Ears]

Very much the latter i think! I was we'll and truly comatosed by the end of the night!

It was an excellent night and was great meeting everyone who attended. I'll be very brief as I'm sure John will summarise the night in detail.

My (very biased) WOTN was the 01 LEAS. Quite shy on the nose upon opening but after sitting in the glass for a while it developed quite a complex nose. I thought it was the length and intensity of the pallet which left the other two Chardonnays in its wake. Filling every corner in the mouth, the flavours lingering on and on.

My red WOTN was the 04 mildara rothwell. Beautiful cabernet with great balance and intensity...lovely fine ripe tannins.

Thanks again John for organising the night, hopefully this will be my first of many to come!

I'll second that, John did an excellent job and found a venue that may have repeat business as a result of Saturday night. I'm looking forward to John's comments also.

For me, I thought that the Rothwell was a lovely young Coonawarra C/S that the nail of John's orignial proposal "Coonawarra Cabs or Cab-blends 5+ years old; do delightful ones demand >8 years of age or can they delight earlier?". It was my Red of the night also - even though I drove us in and had to use the spittoon far too much.

I actually thought that the younger Coldstream Hills just pipped the LEAS as my WOTN. Initially, on first smell and taste, all chardonnays exhibited very subdued noses, although the LEAS was very pleasing in the mouth from the start and the Colstream was young , spicy and vibrant. But as the reds drew closer (to being poured) I found that both the nose and flavour in the mouth of the younger wine came on a lot more than I expected. I would be really interested in seeing what this was like at 12 years of age.

A great night - my apologies for the taint in one of my bottles (I would have liked to have more of it!)

[LGW]

Yes the Coldstream hills did gain a number of votes on the night. For a 7 year old Chardonnay it was still very fresh and vibrant (the only Chardonnay with a screwcap) with an explosion of flavours on the front pallet. I felt it just didn't quite have the length of the other 2 Chardonnays.

The 94 John riddoch even though the oldest, was the bad boy for the night. Not wanting to collaborate with Johns proposal. Even though he has gained some maturity with some secondary aromas and flavours, he was still a little monster! Jam packed full of everything, trying to gain attention over his peers. Not tonight, back to the naughty corner for another 10 years.

[bendid]

Agreed, a great night and props to John for pulling it all together. Restaurant, food, wines & company all excellent.

Bias aside, I enjoyed the Coldstream most of the Chards too. Have had it a few times now and it showed pretty well after some air on Saturday. The LEAS was definitely complex with great length, I'd say it's at peak drinking for me and wouldn't be keen to hold much longer (even in magnum format). The Yattarna was also really nice, but while quality wasn't in question, stylistically the others stood out more on the night.

The Mildara was the pick of the Cabernets, especially given the theme and how it showed. Accessible, appealing, true to regional style, quite impressed. I also enjoyed the JR, but it's clear that it wouldn't have been as approachable at the others at the same age. Nearly 20 years old and still a fair while to go, perhaps not the most complex of JRs, but thoroughly enjoyable all the same.

Ben

[Cloth Ears]

Interesting how the reds flights worked out. The Mildara and the Di Giorgio were in one flight, while the wines with the big tannin structure (both Penleys and the JR) were in the second. Sommelier, take a bow!

[sparky]

Interesting how the reds flights worked out. The Mildara and the Di Giorgio were in one flight, while the wines with the big tannin structure (both Penleys and the JR) were in the second. Sommelier, take a bow!

Why thank you! That was of course due to meticulous planning, careful and long consideration of each wine's pedigree and lastly, which labels looked prettiest together

I've left my notes at home (not that they will help me much, particularly the later pages) but I do remember saying that the '01 LEAS "Is what it is for a reason" and that magnum bottle was in fabulous condition. Also interesting how noticeably bright the Coldstream was under Stelvin and easy to see why white wine makers in particular can get a bit evangelical about closure choices.

I hope the cork taint vs no cork taint was a very useful exercise for those who hadn't done it before (never waste the opportunity for a bit of wine ed on the side!) , so thanks for organising that for us. Don't forget to PM me some details so I can get that fixed up for you.

I'll come back with some notes on the reds - the 2000 Penley was getting some fans up our end of the table but I must do some more research on where the Rothwell fruit goes these days...

[paulf]

Stellar organisation by all, and a good fun night all round. The LEAS was my wine of the night but I was one of those who was impressed with the 2000 Penley. I've consumed a few bottles of it over the years but I've always used it as a quaffer so have consumed it relatively young. I may now have to re-evaluate that.
I very much appreciated being able to compare the cork tainted bottle against another good bottle of the same wine. It is a whole lot easier when you have a point of reference. Having said that, I would have preferred a bottle fit for drinking

[Mike Hawkins]

I drank a bottle of the01 LEAS last year and it was fabulous. Im planning to open another one later this year as I'm concerned 750s probably only have a few more years of peak drinking.

Mike

[Cloth Ears]

I very much appreciated being able to compare the cork tainted bottle against another good bottle of the same wine. It is a whole lot easier when you have a point of reference. Having said that, I would have preferred a bottle fit for drinking

Me also, Paul. I might have to try going back to where I got them from and see if there's any left!

[Michael R]

I drank a bottle of the01 LEAS last year and it was fabulous. Im planning to open another one later this year as I'm concerned 750s probably only have a few more years of peak drinking.

Mike

Thought you typically avoided Chardonnay, or are you talking about the LEAS Cabernet?

[dlo]

Congratulations for such a successful offline!

Paticularly glad the 2001 LEAS Chardonnay went down so well. You gotta hand it to Sparky! The most affable GazzaB (doesn't post here, unfortunately) most generously flew to Canberra from Melbourne for my 50th, 6 years ago and brought a bottle of the LEAS 01' (along with a quite stunning bottle of 1994 Stonyridge Cabernets) that was tight as a fish's and didn't display any of the overt oak/alcohol that tends to spoil Leeuwin's flagship chardonnay from time to time. I suggested it had a long life ahead, IIRC. There looks to be some very nice wine's in the mix on the night. Is anyone contemplating posting a detailed report on the evening? No problems if not .... but a complete list would be appreciated. TIA

[mjs]

I'll second David's request, if only to see what I missed out on

thks

[LGW]

I'll second David's request, if only to see what I missed out on

thks

image.jpg

Here's the 2 demolished magnums of Chardonnay you missed out on!

[mjs]

I'll second David's request, if only to see what I missed out on

thks

image.jpg

Here's the 2 demolished magnums of Chardonnay you missed out on!

I am sure they were nice, but to be frank, I'm more interested in the reds

(Given the original theme of the evening )

[bendid]

I believe the line up was...

NV Henri Chauvet Champagne

2001 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay (magnum)
2006 Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay
2007 Penfolds Yattarna (magnum)

2004 Mildara Rothwell Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Di Giorgio Cabernet Sauvignon

1994 Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon (magnum)
2000 Penley Estate Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Penley Estate Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon

2004 De Bortoli Noble One (750ml)

Cheers,
Ben

[LGW]

2004 De Bortoli Noble One (750ml)

This was a very nice surprise inclusion to end the excellent evening.

[bendid]

2004 De Bortoli Noble One (750ml)

This was a very nice surprise inclusion to end the excellent evening.

It did look pretty good I have to admit, right in its window. Glad it found an appreciative audience.

Ben

[LGW]

Two days later, no comments, event obviously got cancelled, or attendees all still in bed.

Over a week now and still no word from the forum veterans who attended!

Surely they're still not in bed???