We drank the Saignée de Sorbée (photo courtesy of Peter Liem) and the Blanc d'Argile , both 2006's, although they are not labeled as vintage wines. Peter and I drank the 2005 Saignée de Sorbée merely days before this Seattle dinner, and it was also a great, but an entirely different wine. These things come in waves, I guess. MORE >>

2002 Domaine René Engel Vosne-Romanée , $28. 2002 is supposed to be such a great year, and this is a good producer (although that reputation grew under a different wine maker). 2005 Lafouge Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Les Duresses , $27. 2005 Domaine des Croix Bourgogne , $25. 2005 René LeClerc Bourgogne , $25. MORE >>

But today I'm writing to ask you that you as a rule, include basic information on your wine labels. You usually do not tell us on your labels when the wine was disgorged, so I cannot be sure that I am buying the particular wine that I may prefer. 2004, 2005, who knows? This is another great opportunity lost. That's it. MORE >>

He brought a few truly special bottles of wine from France for this dinner, one of which was the 2002 Benoît Lahaye Brut Champagne Millésime. This version is, anyway, which I am guessing is based on 2005 grapes, bottled in 2006, and disgorged in August of 2008 based on the hard-to-spot code on the back label that reads "08 2008." MORE >>

There is something visibly appetizing about Girard's label. It's the tuxedo of the wine label world. Note how "Girard" is in script and the information on the label is in type. So aside from being clean and elegant, the label is also traditional. History, like beauty, is in the mind of the beholder. Elegance. MORE >>