ATTN NJ/PA/ETC Berserkers - Saturday Aug 24 Cellar Drawdown Party

Fall shipping season is nearly upon us, and I need to clear some space from the cellar.

I’ve been threatening to have a cellar drawdown party for nearly a year now, and got inspired by all the other recent cellar clearance threads. So we finally managed to find a date that works - Saturday Aug 24, starting at 5:00 pm, in Cream Ridge NJ.

There will be plenty of food from a kick-ass local family-owned Italian place that caters and has been on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives -and the group will be a mix of Cters, Berserkers, and other friends who enjoy wine and/or are just fun to be around.

Please let me know if you can join us, so we can plan for the food. Friends are welcome too - there is plenty of drawdowning to be done (is that a word?). Lots of local hotel options if anyone wants to stay over.

PM for details.

David has a beautiful home, and manicured back yard (and pool) which is absolutely ideal for hosting a Berserker event. We have an event that we have to go to or we would absolutely positively definitely be there for sure!! David, considering how much wine you have in your need to drink portion of the basement, I strongly suggest having medics and an ambulance on call.

Chris - thank you for the kind words, weather permitting we’ll give everyone a chance to play fetch with Pokey in the pool.

Sorry that you and Catherine can’t make it, see you soon.

We’ll be there - John and I are looking forward to seeing you again!

Thanks Karen - we’re up over 31 now, with Berserkers, CTers and assorted other wine friends.

Look forward to seeing you - and looking through the cellar, I can do a 2009-2010-2011-2012 Jean Edwards Cabernet Stagecoach Vineyard vertical (have 2013 -2014-2015 too, but figured they’re too young?).

I have stems for 60, so still have room for a few more!

PM for details if anyone else is interested in joining us, going to be fun.

If my wife and I can source a babysitter we’d be happy to join. I’ll PM you for more details.

Pm received and response sent - still plenty of room. Glad you can make it!

David, good news as the demands of my law practice makes it so that I can’t join Cat on Saturday. It turns out that I have to go visit a new client at beautiful FDC Fort Dix on Saturday afternoon, so I will probably arrive a little early around 4 pm and can help you clean glasses and set up. (They throw me out of the prison at 3 pm) My drinking will be limited to a paltry 6 or 7 ounces as I have to drive back to Philly around 6:30 ish to pick up Cat at her ticketed event.

Excellent - Fort Dix is just ~15-20 minutes away.

Cliff is also coming by early to help with opening all the wines and decanting. I took your tip and bought a dozen of those Ikea decanters.

Come on over when you’re finished, we’ll start the party early.

The Ikea decanters are perfect for wine events. I just posted a thread on that so that everyone is aware of the hard to believe $1.49 decanter.

You just beat me lol. I bought 6 to do a blind tasting after I saw them being used at Ansonia Wines. Cost me double because I was too lazy to drive an hour to Ikea and had them shipped.

Chris told me about these at our last offline - and I dutifully went to the Ikea website and ordered a dozen. Except that I ordered the $12.99 STORSINT decanters, totally forgot there was another option - just searched on decanter.

Still a great deal, just not an amazing deal.

You can afford the fancy smancy Ikea decanters David. You don’t have to drive a beat up 98 Saab with 195,300 miles on it to be able to have a wine cellar. (I just put a few hairs over 1,000 miles on the 98 last week during my annual Finger Lakes tasting trip. Soon I will have 200K!)

Maybe we need to add another dimension to the wine cellar drawdown tomorrow - pour a third of a wine into the $12.99 STORSINT decanter, a third into one of the $1.49 Ikea decanters, and than a third into a more expensive decanter, and see if anyone can perceive a difference.

I can add a fourth dimension if Eric will bring up one of hie Erlenmayer flasks.

Thanks to our hosts - David and Allison - for an evening of good food and great wines.

Wouldn’t you need a Klein bottle for that?

Karen - you’re most welcome, really glad you could make it - we’ve heard from a bunch of our guests, and one common theme was how much they enjoyed meeting you and John, and hearing first-hand about the winemaking process.

Here is the summary I posted over at CellarTracker -

You’re all welcome, glad everyone could join us. A great diverse group of CTers and Berserkers, along with a group of friends that are friendly and really enjoy wines. In particular, it was great to see how all the winos in the group were helping the others select, taste and appreciate the wines.

Special thanks to Cliff and Pat, for coming early to help with setup, opening bottles etc and for bringing cheese, multi-color layer cake and cannoli from that amazing Staten Island bakery. Also great to meet Shane and Eileen, from Brooklyn, and to have Karen and John Troisi join us and be able to walk everyone through the Jean Edwards vertical, with deep insight into each vintage and the wine making - what a treat.

EricinDC and Janet get the award for traveling the furthest, from Washington DC - great to see you guys again!

Here is the lineup before we got started -

The final tally -mission accomplished, 31 wines consumed from my cellar and plenty of space created - and only a handful weren’t drained by the end of the evening -

2007 Giovanni Corino Barolo Vigna Giachini
2008 Fattoria Le Pupille (Elisabetta Geppetti) Maremma Toscana Saffredi
2008 Château Belair-Monange
2012 Hanzell Chardonnay
2013 Francois Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
2010 Monteverro Toscana IGT
2012 Failla Chardonnay Haynes Vineyard
2010 Tenuta di Biserno Biserno
2007 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino
2011 Querciabella Batàr
2010 Podere Forte Orcia Petrucci
2010 Fossacolle Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
2012 Arterberry Maresh Chardonnay Maresh Vineyard
2006 Château Meyney
2013 Olivier Leflaive Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots
2009 Sojourn Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietary Cuvée
2009 Jean Edwards Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard
2010 Jean Edwards Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard
2011 Jean Edwards Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard
2012 Jean Edwards Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard
2006 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo Le Brunate
2008 Gracia
2009 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon
2008 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 TOR Kenward Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Cimarossa Vineyard
2010 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 Château Boswell Cabernet Sauvignon Jacquelynn
2008 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard
2010 Lancaster Estate Nicole’s Vineyard
2009 Alpha Omega Era
2012 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Right Bank

There were a bunch of folks that couldn’t make it - so Allison is looking for a date in late October or early November for another party, I’ll post when we nail it down.

Notes, jefe–where are the notes!!! Actually–specifically, how was the Valdicava? I am thinking of opening my lone bottle of that next winter.

Seriously, so glad this went well and sorry again that I could not carve out the time to come down, I would have loved to join you all.

All best,

Mike

Mike

I regret to say that I was too busy playing host to take any notes. But my favorites were -

2008 Fattoria Le Pupille (Elisabetta Geppetti) Maremma Toscana Saffredi
2012 Hanzell Chardonnay
2013 Francois Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
2010 Monteverro Toscana IGT
2010 Tenuta di Biserno Biserno
2007 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino
2013 Olivier Leflaive Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots
2009 TOR Kenward Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Cimarossa Vineyard

The Monteverro really opened up with a longer decant, after two hours or so - it is the second bottle I’ve tried, and don’t recall the first being so good. The Valdicava was also outstanding. but it is a favorite and I’m slightly biased. I’d opened up one other 2007 Valdicava, and it had some VA that took a few hours to blow off - no issue whatsoever with this one.