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FARMERS MARKET DINNERPAGH 1ISToday's Cal i forn ia SauvignonBlancs banish all memories ofthe pseudo-French Fum6s of the'70s, the heavily oaked wannabesofthe '80s, and the unripe ("her-baceous") aromas of the '90s.

Finally, the wine has found its el-egant, refreshing, delicately aro-matic self. I chose the Guenoc'05-gently redolent of quince and

melon-to go with the goat-cheese toasts and vegetable tenine.Benziger's North Coast '04 has a riper, rounder feel (perhapsbecause of the extra time in bottle), as does Patianna's shim-mering 2004. Kenwood's Sonoma'05, creamy smooth, has ahint ofripe grape on the nose, and the Frog's Leap '05 is briskbutpleasantly subdued. My favorite is the Spottswoode '04-

lively, graceful, complete, and long-but its distribution is verylimited (you can order from.the winery at707-963-0134).

For the rack of lamb, I turned to the classic match, Caber-net Sauvignon. Some might quibble with my saying thatStags Leap District-toward the bay end of Napa Valley andopen to cool morning fog but also facing the afternoon sun-offers the balance and breed ofBordeaux's St.-Julien (as op-posed to Rutherford's approximation of the more muscularPauillac). But back when a 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon fromStag's Leap Wine Cellars was ranked first among French andCalifornia wines at the famous 1976 blind tasting in Paris, itwas an endorsement not just of California, of Napa Valley,and of Warren Winiarski, the man who had made the wine,but of Stags Leap District itself. To my taste, Cabernet comesclosest to perfection on this particular slope. Impeccably bal-anced, refined yet complex, the Stag's Leap Wine CellarsS.LV. Estate '02,the current vintage, is a classic example ofall that the district has to offer. But to drink right now, I pre-fer the Robert Mondavi Stags Leap '01, a seamless wine offinesse and length, with that elusive cigar-box aroma. TheClos Du YaI'02 is a brighter, more forthright expression ofCabernet. Shafer's Napa Valley '03, though only 64 percentfrom Stags Leap District, has the racy style, glow of fruit,and supple length that are the district's hallmark. Shafer doesproduce a Stags Leap Cabernet, its Hillside Select, but the2001 is long gone from merchants' shelves, and the 2002won't be released until later in the year. In the meantime, itsNapa Valley 2003 off'ers glorious consolation.

SIMPLY SEASONAL MENUPAGE lSSA menu that brings together fresh tomato sauce, salmon withlime butter, arugula, and grilled corn needs a wine that isboth flamboyant and succulent. The answer is Roussanne. Inthe Rh6ne Valley, it had been disappearing because of itsfragility and modest yields. But Roussanne's sappy textureand exotic flavor add dimension to the Rh6ne's more preva-lent Marsanne, and by the 1990s it began gradually findingits place again. At about the same time, the Perrin brothers ofChAteauneuf-du-Pape introduced Roussanne into their then-

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new California vineyard. Cuttings soon spread to the vine-yards ofseveral adventurous growers who started to offer itas a pure varietal wine. One of the first was Zaca Mesa, ofSanta Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County. Its 2004, barrel-.fermented and held in wood to age on its lees, makes an opu-lent and creamy impression. It unfolds slowly and draws thecomponents of our menu together splendidly. Rosenblum'sRoussanne '04, using grapes from Fess Parker's vineyard,also in Santa Barbara County, is more assertive and mouth-filling-there's a touch of pineapple in its aroma and flavor-while the Anglim '04, from the Fralich Vineyard in PasoRobles, is both discreet and exquisite. Austin Hope's 2003Roussanne, from the Mer Soleil vineyard in the Santa LuciaHighlands, has an extraordinary nose, like sunburned grapesand honey together, that you will either love or hate.

California 2004s in which Roussanne is blended withother Rh6ne varietals vary in style: from the gently plumpbut authoritative Bec Blanc (withMarsanne and Grenache Blanc)from Beckmen Vineyards, to Ar-rowood's mildly fruity Cdte deLune Blanc (with Marsanne andViognier), the flowery Shell andBone of Edmunds St. John (withViognier and Marsanne), and TerreRouge's understated Roussanneblend (with Marsanne and Viog-nier) called Enigma, a wine thatwill keep everyone guessing.@

RECOMMENDED WINESFARMERS MARKET DINNERCALIFORNIA SAUVIGNON BLANCSBenz iger , Nor th Coast '04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$13Frog 's Leap, Ruther fo rd '05 . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . , . . , , , , . , , , . $17Guenoc, Lake County '05 . . . . , . , , , , . . , , . , . . . . , . . . , , . , . . . . . .$ f tKenwood, Sonoma'05 . . . . , , . , , , , , , , , , . , . , , , , , , . . . . . . . . . . . . .$13Pat ianna, Mendoc ino '04 , . . . . . . . , . , , . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . .$18Spottswoode, Napa Valley'04... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $32STAGS LEAP DISTRICT CABERNET SAUVIGNONSClos Du Va l '02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , . , . . . . . . . $62Robert Mondavi '01 .. . . . . . . . . . . , , , . . . . $40Shafer, Napa Valley'03 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . $55Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, S,L.V. Estate '02 .. . . . . . . . . , . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110

5! M PLY SE,A$ONAN- M EhII,ICALIFORNIA ROUSSANNESAngl im, Fra l i ch V ineyard , Paso Rob les '04 . . . . . . . , , , , , , . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $22Austin Hope, Mer Solei l Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands'03... . . $30Rosenblum, Fess Parker Vineyard '04 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$19Zaca Mesa, Santa Ynez Valley'04 .. , . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . $25CALIFORNIA ROUSSANNE BLENDSArrowood, COte de Lune Blanc, Saralee's Vineyard '04... . . . , . . . . . . . . $20Beckmen Vineyards, Le Bec Blanc, Purisima Mountain '04... . . . . . $20Edmunds St. John, Shell and Bone, Paso Robles '04... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25Terre Rouge, Enigma, Siena Foothi l ls '04... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $22

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