Last night we had our October offline for the DAWGS. Here are my notes:

NV Bollinger Brut Champagne Special Cuvée (WIML90,WA89,WS93)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Riedel Champagne Flutes. Light yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of toast, pear, yellow apple and later one a little yeast. Flavors of yellow apple, Anjou pear, a little citrus and then some hazelnut on the finish. Drink over the short term. Recommended.

1988 Lanson Brut Champagne Gold Label (WIML89,NOWA,WS89)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Riedel Champagne Flutes. Yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Yeasty nose of mushrooms. Flavors of pear and citrus over an earthy frame. Drink now. I’d pass at this stage of the game myself.

2003 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Durrell (WIML87,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Weiss Wein glasses. Light yellow to yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of vanilla and nutmeg. Flavors of cream, citrus, butter and pear. Drink now. Pass is my recommendation.

2004 Chateau Ste. Michelle-Dr. Loosen Riesling Columbia Valley Eroica (WIML89,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Weiss Wein glasses. Light straw color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Grassy nose of fresh cut flowers and some peach. Flavors of peach, grapefruit and green apple. Drink over the short term. Recommended on a QPR basis.

2005 Dominio del Plata Malbec Mendoza Rosé Crios de Susana Balbo (WIML85,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Weiss Wein glasses. Dark rose color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of rose petals and strawberries. Flavors of strawberry and earth. Drink now. Pass is my recommendation.

2004 Dominio del Plata Torrontés Cafayate Crios de Susana Balbo (WIML83,WA88,WS85)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Weiss Wein glasses. Straw color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of “Lemon Pledge Furniture Polish”. Flavors of lemon and apricots. Drink now. Pass is my recommendation.

2003 Hermann Donnhoff Riesling Spatlese Norheimer Dellchen (WIML91,NOWA,WS93)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Weiss Wein glasses. Light yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. A little fodel on the nose followed by some orange rind and peaches. Flavors of orange crème and peaches. Nice wine. Can be drank now or held for years to come. Recommended.

2002 Frank Family Sangiovese Rutherford Napa Valley (WIML87,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Dark rose color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of bell peppers, cherry and rose petals. Flavors of Bing cherry, white pepper and melted black licorice. Basically, anything but a Sangiovese. Drink over the short term. Pass is my recommendation.

2001 Baer Ursa Washington (WIML88,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Dark ruby to garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Smoky nose with some poultry seasoning and raspberry. What a combination! Flavors of raspberry, cherry and red licorice. Drink over the short term. Pass is my recommendation.

2002 Tamarack Firehouse Red Columbia Valley (WIML90,NOWA,WS91)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of red cherries, raspberry and pepper. Picked up some floral aromas the next day. Flavors of Raspberry, mocha and a little mineral on the finish. Quite tasty the next day. Can be drank now with an hour in the decanter or held for another 5-6 years easily. Recommended.

2001 Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Tietjen Vineyard (WIML89,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of black cherries and rose petals. Flavors of red cherry with a splash of mocha. Not a great wine but a fairly solid, straightforward wine. Drink over the short term. Cautiously recommended.

1998 Domaine du Grapillon d'Or Gigondas (WIML89,WA85-86,WS93)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of black cherries, plum and a little briar patch. Flavors of cherry, earth and raspberry. A lighter style Gigondas but it still goes well with Cassoulet. I’d recommend drinking over the short term. I won’t pick up any more bottles.

2003 WesMar Pinot Noir Russian River Valley (WIML89,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Dusty rose color in the glass, fairly clear hue. Big cherry cola “Loring” nose of black cherries, red cherries and red licorice. Flavors of red cherries and raspberries. Profile wise I was thinking this reminds me quite a bit of some Rosella’s vineyard offerings from other producers. Can be drank now with splash decanting and monitoring but I’d recommend sitting on it another year and re-evaluating it at that time. I think I’m going to go ahead and recommend it for now.

2001 Ca' Marcanda Magari (WIML91,WA89,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Aromas of leather, smoke, tobacco and crushed black cherries. Flavors of black cherries, plums and dried herbs. I’m a “Magari” kind of guy so take that into account. Can be drank now with an hour in the decanter and also be drank over the next 5+ years easily. Recommended.

2002 Pellegrini Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Cloverdale Ranch (WIML88,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Ruby color in the glass, slightly dusty hue. Nose of red cherries, smoke and some raspberry. Flavors of sweet cherry and red licorice. Drink over the short term. Might be a decent wine on a QPR basis…you be the judge of that.

2002 Spelletich Zinfandel Amador County Alviso Vineyard (WIML87,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Dusty rose to ruby color in the glass. Almost port like nose along with some black currant and melted black licorice. Flavors of melted red licorice, honey roasted nuts and cherry cola. Drink over the short term. Passing myself.

2003 Turley Wine Cellars Zinfandel Duarte Vineyard (WIML88,WA86-89,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Dark rose to ruby color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Notes of vanilla and plum topped off with what seems like a heavy oak treatment to me. Flavors of vanilla, raspberry, earth and angostura bitters. Definitely not one of my favorite Turley Zindandels. Drink over the short term. Pass is my recommendation.

2001 Shirvington Shiraz (WIML94,WA98,WS93)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Dark purple to crimson color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Huge blueberry nose with some cocoa powder, smoke and a medley of crushed black fruits. Flavors of blueberries, mocha, glycerin and black berries. This is smoking good wine people. Can be drank now with about 30 minutes to an hour decanting to get it kick started. May be drank over the next 5-7 years without too much trouble. Might improve a few points over time. Recommended.

2003 Trentadue Zinfandel Alexander Valley La Storia (WIMLNR,NOWA,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of melted licorice and black pepper. Flavores of cherry, mocha and red licorice. Drink over the short term. No recommendation or rating.

2001 Miro Petite Sirah Dry Creek Valley Coyote Ridge Vineyard (WIMLNR,WA89,NOWS)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Crimson color in the glass, clear hue throughout. The nose smelled a little like it might have had some TCA (barely dedectable by me) at the time so I passed over this one and never revisited. No recommendation or rating.

1998 St. Hallett Gamekeeper's Reserve Barossa (WIMLNR,NOWA,WS89)

Tasted October 8, 2005 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in Spiegelau Magnum glasses. Dark rose to garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Funky kind of petrol smell on the nose along with some briar patch and spice box. Flavors of red cherries and raspberries dominate along with some herbal notes. Drink over the short term. No recommendation or rating.

1996 Muga Torre Muga Rioja Reserva Especial (WIMLNR,WA92,WS88)
NV R L Buller Premium Fine Muscat (WIMLNR,WA95,WS91)
NV R L Buller Premium Fine Muscat (WIMLNR,WA95,WS91)

Missed a few wines - the horror! However, I very much enjoyed the '98 Gigondas with the cassoulet. Also dug the '88 Lanson Brut Gold Label and the '01 Ca' Marcanda Magari. Texascaliwine's '02 Pellegrini Alexander Val Cloverdale Ranch cab sauv was a nice QPR at $19.