What a great weekend we had.  Once again we had guests from out of town and from around the block, it was a great atmosphere and quite a lot of fun.  Dinner started with store bought Burekas that were heated nicely along with salads of homemade Babaganush (simple roasted eggplant and tahini); store bought hummus, and other salads.  The main course was wicked – if I say so myself.  Fresh sweet and flavorful meat lasagna, another week of succulent sweet roasted summer vegetables, and killer broccoli quiche (parve).  There was a bit too much starch, but really it was quite yummy.

The wines were a combination of guest contribution and a bottle from the cellar.  Our guest brought a bottle of Herzog Syrah Special Reserve 2002.  We have reviewed this before, and I have bent your ear off already about how dangerous it is to cellar Herzog Special Reserve Syrah bottles.  They are great when released and are really meant to be drunk within the year – at best.  That said the 2002 again was quite nice and was the winner of the night.  The other bottle was the Barkan Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2004.  It was nice for a Cabernet, but it was too red and not as weighty as I had hoped for the 2004 vintage.  Neither improved with time in the glass, both were drinkable during the evening, but did not improve over time.  The next morning they were gone.

Herzog Special Reserve Syrah 2002 – Score A-
The score stays the same and the bottle flavors were pretty close.  The only real difference came in the intense pepper attack that made its way from the finish to the front as well.  Not sure why but the pepper was far more evident and loud in this bottle.  Otherwise, the rest stays the same.

Barkan Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2004 – Score: B+
The nose on this dark garnet colored wine was quite nice.  It was filled with blueberry, cherry, a hint of blackberry, and green aromas.  The mouth on this medium bodied wine was fruit forward with blueberry, blackberry, and cranberry.  The mid palate was complex with the fruit and the light oak notes intermingling.  The finish was average length with red fruit flavors.  The wine is NOT overoaked which may appeal to the anti Cabernet crowd.  The flavors are not muddy, but they are not as crisp as I would have liked and though the wine is balanced it did not stand out in any particular manner other than being fruity.