March Sydney Offline: Burgundy vs. The World

[Polymer]

Alex - He hasn't been on for awhile and he missed last week's offline without a word...its really odd...But with that in mind I think it is safe to give the reserves some notice to actually come rather than miss out on a spot.

But I know what I'm bringing....White Burg + Blind White

[deejay81]

I might bring a blind white too, to mix it up.

I will prob catch a bus, but haven't checked what or if any buses are available from Lane Cove...

Forgot it's this Thursday, really looking forward to it!

[andrewpc]

Fantastic, thanks Alex, looking forward to it. Red Burgundy for me.

Cheers

[mse]

Hi Alex,

I am coming too, please count me in. I am figuring out the transportation to the venue. If someone willing to carpool to the nearest train station when we leave, that would be great.

Thanks,
Michael

[catchnrelease]

[Deleted]

[Polymer]

Alex - leave it at 12.

To be fair, people had time to confirm, were messaged, etc...Given that MSE missed last week without notice, we can't just expect to keep a spot open for him until the last minute..it isn't fair to everyone else. He had time to confirm, he will just need to wait until the next offline.

If you want to do two tables, that is up to you..

I hope this isn't coming across very hard..but it is not ok when people plan on showing up to these things hold a spot, and then don't even bother to let people know if they're not coming. Stuff comes up, that's understandable...even leaving a message on the board 10 minutes before is something....

It wouldn't be a big deal if there weren't reserves..reserves that might've come if a person wasn't holding a spot..reserves that might've come had they been able to plan in advance....

[Krusty]

Alex - leave it at 12.

To be fair, people had time to confirm, were messaged, etc...Given that MSE missed last week without notice, we can't just expect to keep a spot open until the last minute..it isn't fair to everyone else. .

+1

[rooman]

Okay, so we have a bit of a conundrum where we now have 13 people confirmed.

SO, two options - extend the table to 13 which will allow ~55ml pours per person, or extend the tasting to 14 people and break it up into two tables of 7 and run it like that.

I'm leaning towards the second option as with two tables of 7 and some mindful pouring there should be plenty of wine left over for other tables to taste. 55ml pours is not very much at all. What does everyone else (especially organisers of previous two table events) think? (if you want to weight in make it quick mind you, the tastings <48hrs away!).

If you go for 14, i am happy to jump in and take up the last slot, 13 is a very large number for one table, far better to have two tables where you get more of an intimate tasting.

[catchnrelease]

Okay, so we have a bit of a conundrum where we now have 13 people confirmed.

SO, two options - extend the table to 13 which will allow ~55ml pours per person, or extend the tasting to 14 people and break it up into two tables of 7 and run it like that.

I'm leaning towards the second option as with two tables of 7 and some mindful pouring there should be plenty of wine left over for other tables to taste. 55ml pours is not very much at all. What does everyone else (especially organisers of previous two table events) think? (if you want to weight in make it quick mind you, the tastings <48hrs away!).

If you go for 14, i am happy to jump in and take up the last slot, 13 is a very large number for one table, far better to have two tables where you get more of an intimate tasting.

Sorry Rooman, I've sent a lengthy PM to mse discussing that the dinner will be kept to 12, which is the absolute maximum for a table, yes. I feel that's probably what most people want. 13 is too many for one table and realistically it'll be closer to 50ml per person which is ridiculous, let's face it, I don't want everyone to feel cheated. Two tables was an option buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut with these Burg dinners I fear people may feel slighted if one table is better than the other, or one table has more Cru level wines, or one table has more Burg/non-Burg on the table. Also with 14 people attending some people are definitely going to miss out, unless everyone gets a tiny taste (which probably isn't ideal for anyone). More monotonous tastings (single varietal like cabernet or something) would work better for split table tastings as everyone gets roughly the same experience. But I can see people getting a bit annoyed, even if they wouldn't express it for the sake of politeness, if they missed out or got a tiny pour of the other tables' great vintage Grand/Premier Cru such and such.

Ah organising offlines, always an interesting experience.

[catchnrelease]

Also, to repeat for clarity, the following are confirmed for 6pm, Thursday 3rd March, La Boheme Restaurant

1. catchnrelease
2. Polymer
3. Krusty
4. TiggerK
5. dave vino
6. deejay8
7. Lauren
8. Bobthebuilder
9. pc79
10. Croquet King
11. Meefun
12. andrewpc

[catchnrelease]

Got a response from mse and everything's been sorted. The above list of 12 are the ones going to the offline. Done and done!

[pc79]

Nice work Alex. might be an idea to update the front page if you get a chance.
Work this week for me has been pretty brutal. I will be there for sure, but not entirely sure I'll make it for kick off. Aiming for around 6:30. Save some of Senor Krusty's bubbles for me!

[deejay81]

So how is everyone getting there?

From Lane cove I have to Walk - Bus - Walk - Tram - Walk. Only takes about an hour, but yeah...
It would be cool if a few of us met in city or Pyrmont or something and caught a cab and split the fare?
Alternatively we can meet at a light rail stop and catch the tram together?
If anyone is up for this, please let me know!

[Meefun]

I'll take a train to Central then take the tram. About 5 minutes walk from the Glebe light rail station anyway.

[catchnrelease]

Nice work Alex. might be an idea to update the front page if you get a chance.
Work this week for me has been pretty brutal. I will be there for sure, but not entirely sure I'll make it for kick off. Aiming for around 6:30. Save some of Senor Krusty's bubbles for me!

No worries mate, 6pm is pretty early and I deliberately set it at that so if people are running a bit late it won't matter too much. We'll save some bubbles.

[Croquet King]

I'll be getting the train to Central and then the light rail

[dave vino]

My other red didn't arrive in time so I am bringing a just released Aussie White I have been wanting to try. I'll also bring another Red just in case my white upsets the balance.

2007 Domaine Jean-Michel Guillon Clos Vougeot Grand Cru (smallish producer interested in seeing what he can do with a good appellation
2015 Mayer Chardonnay

“How did you find the 2015 chardonnay growing season and harvest, Timo?”.
“It was a good year…we got two barrels”, says Timo Mayer.
That’s the sales pitch. No new oak, no lees stirring, but left on lees all year.
Spicy, nougat, lemon pith, lemon rind, smoke and flint. Spicy kind of feel in the palate, tangy fruit, lean but flavoursome, clip of chalkiness, brisk tang of acidity. Very good feel here, great length, giant freshness. Delicious. 94pts

backup Red: 2008 Domaine Stephane Magnien Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

[Krusty]

2015 Mayer Chardonnay

“How did you find the 2015 chardonnay growing season and harvest, Timo?”.
“It was a good year…we got two barrels”, says Timo Mayer.
That’s the sales pitch. No new oak, no lees stirring, but left on lees all year.
Spicy, nougat, lemon pith, lemon rind, smoke and flint. Spicy kind of feel in the palate, tangy fruit, lean but flavoursome, clip of chalkiness, brisk tang of acidity. Very good feel here, great length, giant freshness. Delicious. 94pts

You know you will have at least one fan in the room Dave......

[dave vino]

Special handshake??

[Croquet King]

Looks like I'll be there early.

On the light rail already. Pretty seamless so far.
Let's see if I can find it without getting lost.

[Meefun]

Sorry for my poor time management. I'll be there by 6:30

[catchnrelease]

Buses around my place are all f*cked up for some reason, 6:30 is my eta

[catchnrelease]

I do have a bottle of Aussie bubbles on me (doubtful if it's quality, brought it for curio only), but feel free to start proceedings early. Alternatively enjoy the bar downstairs while you wait! Booking is under Alex Basford

[pc79]

In a cab, stuck near Anzac br. There in 10

[Polymer]

Great time..

Even though it was a bit out of the way to get there, price was good and we had the whole upstairs to ourselves...they let us use the bar, extra tables, etc...we probably had too much space really as we were so spread apart it made it hard to get to talk to everyone...

Thanks to Alex for organizing...great fun..

[Croquet King]

Another quality night - thanks for organising Alex.
Having the whole upstairs was great but those long tables make it hard to talk to everyone.

As usual everyone was very generous with the wine.

[dave vino]

Some happy snaps from last night. No flash so a bit dark.

25 bottles all up for the night. Good wide variety of wines.

[phillisc]

Wow Dave, hats off to you Sydneysiders...looks like you and the ladies and gents had a great evening.

Its on my bucket list to get to an offline in Adelaide sometime this year...beginning to get offline envy.

Looks like a really relaxed format.

Cheers
Craig.

[deejay81]

Great night, great people, great wine! Had heaps of space, prob too much? but def not complaining.

Hope the workers are pulling up ok? Lauren, Matty, Paul, Alex and I ended up going to a pub afterwards for beers, then got kicked out of there cause it got too late, then went to another bar for more beer, whisky and whisky sours!

After Uber'ing home i ended up sleeping around 4, and now I'm paying for it!

[pc79]

Morning all,
Yes David, Ouch! the 7am wake up was not overly appreciated.
Some notes. a bit scratchy, but the general gist. WOTN for me was the Morey,

Centennial rose pink - no note.
Yve fourny & fils - very bright bubbles and acidic yeasty goodness. Bright
W1 mystery (2011 hospice de beune - meursault) young, jangly acid, yeasty, grapefruit, saline nectarines. Alluring.
W2 Bouchard en fils meursault genevrieres - mid yellow buttery toast, limes on palate, slightly hollow in the mid back. Great nose, reasonable taste. Like
W3 mystery (2012 coteaux bourguignons) sour lemon, oaty, chook shit and sherbet. zing of acid through the finish. A bit nervy
2009 leflaive rully 1er - buttered popcorn, stonefruits and a whiff of rubber early which blew off. Love
2015 Mayer Chardonnay - pineapples and lemon, strawberry talc. Riesling (sav Blanc) like. Fuller palate with the lime zest carrying through. Pretty great!
2012 10 minutes by tractor - yum. structure. Spiced peach and almond, vanilla and something?? Bit of hard acid though carrying through. Not so sure now
2009 gagnard montreche - better than the 10. Soapy, but a bit cream and spice and all things nice. Bit cloves and something else. Nice.
2010 gagnard montreche - funky vegetal, bit of crud in there not pleasant for me. Hard and a bit grotty.
W3 mystery (hungerford hill epic) a bit oily and nice acid flow through, strong showing from tumbarumba. Stupid name for a town, great place to grow chardy. Buttery toast goodness.
W4 mystery (Lethbridge 2012) - stone fruits and lemocello. hint of sweetness, excellent stuff
2006 Pierre yves Colin Morey chateniere aubin - Buttery butterscotch creamy and great . Bit of lanol oily texture and a bit of funk. But awesome. Wotn so far.
2013 Guillard gevrey chambertin 1er Cru- strawberry, cherry cinnamon and Clove spice. Not French smelling at all. Big, but best of the flight.
2013 mystery (Robert Chellivon village) unit W5 mystery - bit of poopy bandaid . Maybe not. Cherry and gamey. Volatile va. sharp on the palate. Nup. Medium tannin grip.
W6 mystery (2013 Robert Chevillon Nuits Bourgogne) - medicinal. No.
2001 dominique Laurent Morey St Denis - sour cherry, undergrowth, some decent fruit in there. cloudy.
W7 mystery (2002 Blane Gagnard premier cru) - closed, slight sour cherry note, earthy and funk. Barnyard. Pretty good. Bass was bad.
2001 bass Philip crown prince - cloudy shit red colour. Pong, sour, dead. Bad
2010 Rouget Pere & fills Volnay premier cru - beef stock, cherry, funky and tasty and good. Pretty rich on the palate.
2008
W8 mystery - 2001?? Michelot chambolle musigny premier cru- love. Cherry earth crushed ants and funk. Grotty chook and stink. Excellent. Love
W9 mystery 2008 Henri de villamont Volnay - slight watery. Cherry cola, stinky goodness. Pretty good.
2007 Clos de Vougeot Guillon - light cherry tobacco. Barnyardfunk, long finish. nice
2008 Magnien Charmes chambertin - richer and bolder than the Vougeot. Likey more
?? Sauternes - sweet apricot goodness. Nice acid means not to cloying