We had dinner with Sacha Verhange of Eno Wines on Saturday night along with his lovely wife and daughter. Over dinner, we enjoyed several interesting wines that are worth noting.

2006 Saint-Joseph, Rene-Jean Dard et Francois Ribo. Probably the most fascinating wine we had all night. It reminded me of a good Cote-Rotie as well as the wines of Raymond Trollat. I would guess that it was fermented with stems. I wasn't able to confirm my guess looking around on the web so who knows. I did find out that they release a Syrah in the spring following harvest - I would love to give it a try and will look for it. You can read a bit more about them at: http://www.wineterroirs.com/2004/06/dard_ribo.html The winemakers trained in Beaune so it was the perfect match for our other wines.

2000 Gevrey-Chambertin, Hubert Lignier. I really liked this wine - spicy and minerally. The balance was nearly perfect and reminded me what I really like in wine. Balanced and not over the top. I don't know anything about it and don't even know when/where we got it.

1999 Chambertin, Trapet Pere & Fils. Last time we opened a bottle of this, we were totally disappointed. This time, it was singing. Lots of dark fruit with a silky texture. We bought this bottle at the domaine when we were first dating. Grandmère Trapet led us around - we didn't speak a word of French and she, not a word of English. That said, we had a wonderful time as she told us about Napoleon's love of Chambertin and her love of Tracey's nail polish. The wine brought us back to that moment which made it nearly perfect.

A great evening and wonderful wines!