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Subject: DAWGS OFFLINE - JULY 27, 2006

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wineismylife User is Offline

Arlington, TX

Master of Wine
Posts:12263

07/29/2006 1:50 PM
DAWGS OFFLINE - JULY 27, 2006 - Il Sole, Dallas, TX (7/27/2006) The DAWGS held their "regularly" scheduled monthly offline this month at Il Sole in Dallas, TX. I say monthly because seems like they tend to happen several times a month depending on which forum member is in Dallas for a visit! This also happend to be our 3rd anniversary dinner. Our "current" group "officially" started in July of 2003. Incredibly enough there are a few members of our current group from predessor groups as well, still going strong after all of those offlines! In attendance at our offline this month was wine+art, just a skosh, PlanoWino & Mrs PlanoWino, win, MikeB, yours truly and a couple of special guests Richard and BrianS. Our theme for this month's offline was a reprisal from our original offline in July 2003, "Italian Varietals From Around the World". You could bring any bottle you wish as long as it is either an Italian wine or made elsewhere in the world from a grape varietal mainly associated with Italy such as sangiovese, nebiollo, etc... The idea is to compare the Italian original to their counterparts in the rest of the world. On to the show... Italian varietals from around the world Thank you to just a skosh for bringing the always appreciated Krug to get the palate primed for the onslaught of Italians to come. The order below is the order in which I tasted the wines. N.V. Krug Champagne Grande Cuvée - France, Champagne WIML93,WA92,WS95 Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a house provided Champagne flute. Light yellow to yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout with light beading. Nose of yellow apples, pears, brioche, a bit yeasty. Flavors of sharp yellow apples, pears, maybe a touch crème with some citrus notes. Good acidity with good balance. Medium bodied. Drink over the short term. No value recommendation. (93 pts.) 2004 Unti Vineyards Barbera - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley WIML89+,NOWA,NOWS Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, slightly opaque looking. Nose of pepper, smoke and black currants. Flavors of red berries, sweet red cherries and raspberries. Very fruity and flavorful wine that should appeal to a fairly wide crowd. Light acidity with light tannins. Decent balance overall despite the light, supple structure. Light to medium bodied. Drink over the next couple of years. Based on the $24.00 a bottle I paid direct from the winery I’d say the value here is agreeable. (89 pts.) 1999 La Palazzola Merlot Umbria IGT - Italy, Umbria, Umbria IGT WIMLNR,WA92,NOWS Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Dark plum colored in the glass, dusty looking throughout. Nose dominated by the smell of Band Aids with some leather, kirsch and a touch of pepper. Light fruit upon opening with maybe some red cherries and red berries. Thought I also picked up on some mint at one point. Medium acidity, tannins and body. “Stucturally” balanced. I’m not rating this wine because I’m fairly certain the Band Aids smell would eventually blow off but I never had time to revisit this wine later in the evening. 2001 Shafer Firebreak - USA, California, Napa Valley WIML88,WA89,WS85 Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Attractive garnet color in the glass with a pretty hue throughout. Nose of black cherries, white pepper, maybe some blackberries, also possibly some anise. Much later on I revisited and also picked up a strong burnt sugar smell. Flavors of black cherries, red licorice and pepper. Later I thought I picked up a little mocha. Much later the wine came across as “weaker” than it had earlier on. Overall fairly bold acidity with firm tannins. Medium to full bodied. This wine seems to be a bit of an enigma to me right now. I’m not sure if it should be opened and splash decanted and gobbled right down right now or if maybe it should be decanted for an hour and go from there. Ratings wise we’re going to call it an 88 for the moment. No value recommendation. NOTE: I have one bottle of this wine left in my cellar which is scheduled to be tasted this year. I look forward to tasting this by itself at some point with no other wines to distract me. (88 pts.) 2003 Shafer Firebreak - USA, California, Napa Valley WIML89,WA90,NOWS Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of black cherries, pepper and red berries. “Jammy” on the palate with big, juicy red cherries, red currants and maybe some strawberries. Medium acidity with medium to firm tannins. Medium bodied as well. Balanced. Can be drank now with an hour in the decanter or should hold for 3+/- years easily. No value recommendation. (89 pts.) 2003 Masi Campofiorin Ripasso Veronese IGT - Italy, Veneto, Veronese IGT WIMLNR,NOWA,NOWS Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Tight nose giving away a little black licorice, dark berries and some dried herbs. Also fairly tight on the palate, yielding a little dried cherries, red currants and a touch of bitters. Fairly short finish which really surprised me. Medium acidity, light to medium tannins. Medium bodied. No rating on this wine as we didn’t give it a fighting chance, opening it at least a couple of years too early. Hold until 2008 or so before trying again. There’s potential for improvement here. 2001 Fattoria La Valentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Bellovedere - Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo WIML93,WA94,NOWS Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Dark garnet color in the glass, almost purple, clear hue throughout. Nose of blackberries, crushed plums with just a touch of smokiness. Big, juicy flavors of black currants, plums and blackberries. Medium acidity with medium tannins. Medium to full bodied. Notable balance. Although this wine can be drank now I sensed it was holding back with potential improvement to come. I’d recommend holding a year. No hurry to open it no with loads of fruit and structure to last. This wine moved me enough to look it up on wine searcher afterwards. At $38.41 a bottle (current lowest price in the land) I’d say the value here is recommended at a minimum, potentially highly recommended with more time in bottle. Barely nudged out the 1997 Azelia Barolo Bricco Fiasco as my wine of the night. (93 pts.) 1994 Zonin Amarone della Valpolicella - Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella WIMLNR,NOWA,WS87 Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Light ruby color in the glass, surprisingly clear throughout without any notable signs of bricking. Nose of laquer with perhaps some melted red licorice and mint hiding in there. On the palate the wine came across as slightly tart with perhaps some red licorice notes and perhaps a touch of bitters. Light acidity with light tannins and light body at this point. This wine seemed decidedly on the downhill side to me. Drink up if you have any. No value recommendation or rating. 1999 Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT WIMLNR,WA91,WS90 Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Purple color in the glass, clear hue thoughout. Very tight/closed nose giving up perhaps some leather notes, pepper and perhaps dried herbs. Not a lot on the palate as well, maybe some mixed red fruits. However, the wine seemed to have medium acidity and tannins. Is this wine still shutdown or is provenance an issue here? Not sure. My first guess is a provenance issue or perhaps simply an off bottle. Maybe I tasted it too early on. I didn’t get a chance to revisit with airtime. Withholding a rating or recommendation. This wine should have performed much better than this. 1997 Poggio San Polo Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino WIML91,NOWA,WS95 Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Light garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Still a little tight on the nose, giving way to some notes of cherries, anise and berries. Flavors of red cherries, red berries and maybe a little eucalyptus? Definitely not showing all it has to offer. There’s more here in my opinion. Medium acidity, slightly smooth turning towards medium tannins. Medium to full bodied. Pretty balanced overall. I wouldn’t drink right now myself. Having tasted this wine it just reaffirms my feeling that the 1997 vintage is the real deal and my decision to continue to hold my 1997 BdMs. Give this one another year and try again. Upside potential here. No value recommendation. (91 pts.) 1997 Azelia Barolo Bricco Fiasco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo WIML92+,WA93,WS92 Tasted July 27, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a Spiegelau Authentis Magnum glass. Garnet color in the glass, slightly opaque looking throughout (although the lighting was difficult in the restaurant at this point in the evening). Nose of kirsch, a mix of dried fruits, potpourri, tobacco and my ever present Barolo descriptor of leather. Pretty big flavors of blackberries and dark plums with licorice and maybe some black currants. Medium acidity, tannins, body, balanced, yada yada yada. Solid wine across the boards. When I saw this bottle my first thought was “Who’s killing the baby?” I was shocked to experience how well this wine is already drinking. Can be drank now but should hold for years to come. Almost beat out the 2001 Fattoria La Valentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Bellovedere for wine of the night. Even at the $55.00 a bottle price from Vinfolio in California I’d recommend this wine from a value standpoint. (92 pts.) I'd like to thank everybody for attending this month and I look forward to a very busy offline month of August. Posted from CellarTracker

Joe ----- Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone.

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