The stunning 1999 Syrah (700 cases) boasts gorgeous blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with toasty oak, smoke, and licorice. This hedonistic, fleshy, low acid, corpulent Syrah will drink well for 6-7 years. According to the label, it was bottled without fining or filtration. Tel. (650) 342-8017

Yum’s the word for the Lewis, another feather in winemaker Paul Hobbs’s cap. It’s so complex from beginning to end that reviewers had difficulty recording the numerous flavors and aromas that we found. Here’s a sampling: We read the mouth as having a combination of prune, plum, smoked meat, toasted coconut, caramelized onion and vanilla aromas; the palate offers plum, cream, dried spices (cinnamon and nutmeg, mostly) and nutty-earthy notes. "Long, long" finish is chock-full of red berries, black pepper, peanut shells and a smidge of powdered sugar. "Wow!" wrote one reviewer. Um, yes. Agreed.——W.E.(11/1/2001)—— 91