I’m not going but I agree with Scott.
20 people - 2 bottles each. That’s 2oz per person~. Essentially a little more than 1 pour per person.
Unless you all have stems for every single wine available, people won’t be able to sit and really focus on the wines as they open with time (which they definitely will need to). Everyone is always in a rush with blind tastings to reveal things within the first 30 minutes.
I’m with @Scott_Wanamaker.
Would like to compare each vintage non-blind, but at the same it would be educational to taste each vintage blindly.
Good point - seems like a lot of wine - a bottle per person - but with that many vintages it really isn’t, however, we’ll have only single bottles of 2010, 2011, and 2012, presumably, unless Alex and Graeme produce more, so we might be able to double up on three other bottles. Currently we have the following, so we’re full (I’m assuming Jen isn’t coming anymore, though she doesn’t know that yet, as this is becoming more academic as we move forward, and she is not a big fan of that, constantly making fun of me when I do it) with regards to vintages, yet three people (Graeme, Alex, and @jordan_jacobs ) have not yet been assigned as I don’t have their vintage availability.
With this, we’ll have three ‘extra’ bottles of certain vintages, so perhaps we do a small blind flight with three vintages, rest open/visible
We’re not the first to have a MacDonald vertical, though we’ll have a couple more vintages to add…interesting how this crew grouped the vintages
https://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=47438
Also interesting, and I’d be happy to take Graeme and Alex’s take on this, is the addition of Mondavi Reserve, which, as many of you know (and those at the dinner will probably hear about from the MacDonald boys) has a very close tie with the property. That said, I have a magnum of 2001 Mondavi Reserve that perhaps I should bring if they think it interesting
If we want to expand to the Mondavi Reserve for comparison, I’ve got '89, '99, '03-'05, '09 and '10 if any of those are of interest. In the other MacDonald vertical, the Mondavis were much older, which I guess shows how the vineyard ages, but it might be nice to have a newer Mondavi vintage to compare instead/in addition to.
I was thinking about packing an 09 Monestary Block.
Will there be pre-set courses or will we just order off the menu?
we’ve got a menu being prepared - three kinds of beef, some sides, etc - setting the menu but with choices, basically, three options for meat, three for sides, you order from that pre-set menu
Niiiice, cant wait…
Mondavi doesn’t belong at this event unless approved by MacD IMHO.
Agreed, I would only include if approved/endorsed by the brothers MacDonald
In a perfect world I think you do blind initially and then have enough wine and time after the reveal to really dig into the differences
But I would also ask the brothers because they probably have seen this done every way and I would defer to their judgment on all of this
Todd, will there be a seafood option as well for the entree? Thanks.
Here’s our menu on the main course choices subject to change of course:
ROSIE’S FARM CHICKEN
SKUNA BAY SALMON
CHILEAN SEABASS
40 DAY DRY-AGED NEW YORK STRIP
PETITE FILET
I agree with this.
I think @T_Turney removed all seafood options from the menu, no?
Yup, that’s why I mentioned them when bringing the idea up
Good question. Let’s figure it out.
We are trying to narrow the menu down to pair well with the wine. That means meat mofos. However, anyone is welcome to order whatever they want off the menu separately. I am planning to hook up an iv of their lobster mash and you should too.
Hey all,
My apologies. I have not been able to follow this thread. I am still in (flight and hotel booked) and am working on bringing a 10-12. Should know more in a couple days. I also have some back vintages of mondavi reserve. But they are all pre- Macdonald. 01 and older.
Please let me know what else I can do to help things.
Best
Jordan
