And two wines in their appellation series that are of interest are the Carmel "old vine" Carignan & the Carmel Petit Sirah.  Those are: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot & Malbec. I'm sorry for the delay in writing this post.  I have gotten MANY requests for my Rosh Hashana suggestions. 

Their 2004 cabernet which is actually a Bordeaux blend of 76% Cabernet, 18% merlot, 4% Petit Verdot & 2% cab franc. Although Ridge is known for their Zins they do make other very fine wines and we were started off with a Chardonnay and finished with a Cab/Merlot blend and finally a Petit Syrah. Serious pretension.

The wines that stood out though were their Syrahs. enjoyed the 2003 Havens Syrah but mentioned to Connie that I thought the nose was a little closed. She proceeded to open a 2000 Syrah that they recently re-released and it was great. Upon arriving we started with a very nice rose' made from Zin with a little Syrah.

Lohr Estates Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 This Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles, California is made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petite Sirah, 5% Syrah, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot and 1% Malbec- quite an intense mix, but it works. Here are 7 of my most recent favorite inexpensive but good wines.

This Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles, California is made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petite Sirah, 5% Syrah , 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot and 1% Malbec -- quite an intense mix, but it works. Stainless steel fermentation, then 14-16 months in oak casks. a glass. alcohol

Merlot, Cab, Syrah - been there done that. lighter wine than a Cab, merlot or Syrah, Barbera is said to be the most (or second most) planter varietal in Italy. No, not the Petit Sirah/Zin blend - another people know is a favorite of mine. Come on Wine Tasting Guy, give us something unusual. Worth a shot!

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. The 2003 "1er Etage" Cab Franc was blended with 2% Petit Verdot and had very subtle green notes but was was nice as well. Great stuff.

Well ladies and gentlemen, the results are in. will be copying a list of wines & their scores from Israeli Wine Critic Daniel Rogov's "Wine & Food Forum".  I am waiting for my physical copy of the issue to arrive before I comment specifically.  More comments later.  Without further ado, the scores.