The Paumanok 2007 Assemblage – Merlot with 22% Petit Verdot and 9% Cabernet Franc (although in most vintages, this cuvee contains Cabernet Sauvignon) – smells and tastes of ripe blueberry and blackberry tinged with pungent herbs and white pepper. Lean in texture but infectiously juicy and bright as well as palate staining, this concentrated, energetic blend should be worth following for at least a decade. Incidentally, it weighs in at a moderate 13.5% alcohol. Veteran Charles Massoud and his oldest son, Kareem, are practicing increasing selectivity and sorting of fruit as well as ever more sensitive and targeted extraction, and their 2007s build on and refine the success of their 2005s.Tel. (631) 722-8800

The Paumanok 2005 Assemblage blends 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Petit Verdot into its base of Merlot. Tart blueberry and blackberry are tinged with mint and fennel. A finely concentrated, leanly-textured palate displays well-integrated bitterness; a sense of extract you imagine straining through your palate; and an adamantly dry finish. This should hold will for 5-7 more years, although it will always lean toward the austere side. Veteran Charles Massoud and his oldest son, Kareem, are practicing increasing selectivity and sorting of fruit as well as ever more sensitive and targeted extraction, and their 2007s build on and refine the success of their 2005s.Tel. (631) 722-8800

With 12% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot and 38% each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, Massoud’s 2004 Assemblage seems to incorporate in its aromatic panoply the resin and blueberry typical of Petit Verdot (never before used here) as well as licorice and diverse black fruits. Dense and intense on the palate, this full-bodied wine will, I suspect, need at least another year before it shows its real personality. An impressively long, low-toned finish offers great promise. Speaking of which, the 2005s here are amazingly formidable from cask at this stage.Tel. (631) 722-8800