This is a juicy, exuberantly-styled Zin from the reliable Murphy-Goode Winery. A very good value, the 2004 Zinfandel Liar’s Dice (16,000 cases produced) possesses a conservative (for currant day Zinfandels) alcohol percentage of 14.5. Its deep ruby color is followed by big, juicy, extroverted aromas of black cherries, earth, underbrush, pepper, and Provencal spices. It possesses loads of character, a full-bodied palate, terrific fruit purity, and a lovely, savory texture. Drink it over the next 2-4 years. Score: 89.

Carignane has a reputation for large crops--that's why early farmers planted it. But treated with respect, sensitivity, and conservative production practices this grape makes wines of sophistication, complexity and power. Our vines look like small trees, tall with upreaching arms, and are trained the old way--no trellis wires. Crops are small, partly due to the age of the vines, partly the devigorating clay soils, partly to our severe pruning that favors canopy growth over fruit production.

Consider Navarro Vineyards Gewürztraminer. We love the spicy, unique taste of Gewürz, and Navarro routinely makes one of America's best. We celebrated our daughter Media's 18th birthday at New York's Le Cirque restaurant last month. The wine list was huge and filled with some reasonably priced wines and a lot of famous wines that cost thousands of dollars. Amid all of these, Dottie spied Navarro's 2004 Gewürz for $55, the best buy on the list. We ordered it to go with the seafood-heavy tasting menu Media selected, and it was excellent -- dry, spicy and filled with personality. We felt so lucky to have it because we knew that we'd rarely see it in a store. Deborah Cahn, who owns Navarro with her husband, Ted Bennett, says the winery makes about 1,900 cases of the Gewürz. Most is sold directly from the winery to consumers, and about 500 cases go to restaurants. The winery doesn't sell to retailers (except a tiny amount to a few old friends). Why? "I think all of our wines show better with food. They are meant to have with a meal. So for us, selling to restaurants that we like to eat in is almost a form of advertising, because it introduces the wine to people who otherwise wouldn't have a chance to come to the Anderson Valley to try our wines." By the way, the Gewürz sells for $18 at the winery, which means the markup at Le Cirque was about three times retail. But we're not complaining. It's sure cheaper than a plane ticket to California.

The '02 Rosemount is Aussie by birth. Although I would not describe the wine as having Big Fruit, It is a pretty decent medium bodied Merlot with an earthy feel and a taste of black fruit and light oak. There is also a bit of astringency at first and decanting may help with that (although TWC did not decant it). You should be able to find it for around $10.00 US and at that price it is a relative bargain.