The 2005 Flying Pig is 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot aged in 50% new oak. Opaque purple with an exotic perfume, on the palate the wine is mouth-coating and rich with the oak totally integrated. The wine manages to be both elegant and powerful with minerals and spice on the mid-palate and a very long, fruit-filled finish. Christophe Baron strikes again. His estate, just on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla AVA, consists of five small but distinct vineyards (41 acres in total – with more on the way). Syrah and the Bordeaux varietals are the principal focus but the finest parcels of Tempranillo, Viognier, and Grenache grown in the USA are on this estate. The vineyards are farmed biodynamically and much of the estate is planted on rootstock to prepare for the day when phylloxera works its way through Walla Walla. The wines are all fermented with indigenous yeasts and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Tel. (509) 526-0686; www.cayusevineyards.com