then moved onto the 2005 Hayne Vineyard Zin & '05 reserve Zin. Definitely a great food wine. finished with a barrel sample of their 2006 Cab which was bit tight but showed blue/black fruit and gripping tannins. tried the Volker Eisele 2005 Cab which was nice and somewhat subdued and finally the Showkett Vineyards 2005 Cab. MORE >>

And finally the Peay 2005 "La Bruma" Estate Syrah, which I was told came from a very cool Syrah site, was also not a fruit bomb like some of the other Syrah's I tried. Definitely one I'll be on the lookout for! based on prices it was actually the cheapest of their 3 Pinots, the 2005 Etude "Temblor" Pinot Noir. Great stuff. MORE >>

learned, though, that I am not a fan of the Long Island style of Sauvignon Blanc, which based on the wines I sampled at this tasting, is super pungeant, o'er brimming with cat pee aromas. My "4"s: 2005 Lieb Pinot Blanc , $19. 2005 Waters Crest Private Reserve Chardonnay , $25. 2005 Waters Crest Nightwatch , $45 (375ml). MORE >>

Among the various goodies we sampled that evening was a confit of duck leg. Mostly Carignan, with some Grenache and Syrah thrown in, the 2005 Domaine des 2 Anes Corbieres Fontanilles was smooth and supple, ripe and complex. Quite a lovely thing that they're doing, definitely worth poking around their site. They're all like that. MORE >>

Also, the vignerons poured not only their entry level wines, but their top wines, and this provided the opportunity to taste a $62 Cote Rotie without actually buying it, which is much appreciated if you are in my tax bracket and you want to sample the wares before investing. 2005 Marechal Pommard La Chaniere , $50 - who would have thunk it? MORE >>