Last Wednesday, the Duke attended a dinner with John Schwartz and Heidi Barrett. One of the wines served at the dinner was the not-yet-released Amuse Bouche 2005. It takes quite a bit to stun the Duke, but the Amuse Bouche did it! The wine was incredibly deep, rich and powerful. Others at the table insisted on ordering it on the spot and we convinced John and Heidi to add few more 6-packs to our futures allocation. We thought you might want to have another chance to score this magnificent wine. Here is a reprise of the original offering.

John Schwartz has had such great success with specialty wines Pharoah Moans and Coup de Foudre that we thought you might like to be reminded of his original idea. Please take a moment to learn about a stunning wine from one of the world's top winemakers and one of the great innovators of the wine world.

Heidi Barrett, former winemaker at Screaming Eagle and Dalla Valle, had long had the vision of creating a Pomerol-style Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend from the best sources of Napa Valley fruit. That dream became a reality with the introduction of the 2002 vintage of Amuse Bouche. This magnificent blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc is truly a wine to rival its famous counterparts from across the Atlantic, the giants of Pomerol, Petrus and Chateau Le Pin, not to mention setting an exceptionally high bar for its California challengers. Time magazine has called Heidi the "wine diva of Napa" and referred to her as "one of the world's top winemakers." She has several so-called "perfect" wines to her credit, having scored 100 points on Parker's 100-point scale. (The '92 and '93 Maya and the '92 and '97 Screaming Eagle immediately come to mind.)

The Duke has been pleased to offer her previous vintages of the sensational Amuse Bouche to our loyal customers and we are even more thrilled to be able to offer the stunning 2005 vintage to you on future.

The 2005 harvest was distinguished by long hang time on the vines. The wine has completed fermentation and is now ageing gracefully in French oak. According to Heidi, the 2005 harvest delivered some of the most 'lush fruit' she has ever worked with. This is a wine of both power and elegance. In other words, WOW!!

Purchasers of a 6-pack that comes in a custom wooden box will receive a limited-edition lithograph of the lovely 2005 original artwork by talented American artist Wayne Thiebaud having a retail value of up to $1,500.00. Over the course of his 50-year career, Thiebaud has become one of the leading figures in the field of modern American art. He is best known for his still life paintings of everyday objects - particularly his thickly painted cakes and pies. Reflecting his fondness for fine foods, Mr. Thiebaud has created his own amuse-bouches to adorn the '05 vintage. His sensuous texture and warm, luminous palette remind us to seek out layers of texture and taste, to explore beyond the obvious and to revel in the complexity of fine food, wine and art.

The Duke's futures price on this extremely limited Napa Valley classic is $250.00 per bottle, no change from last year. We also have a few very rare and limited magnums available in custom wooden boxes at a futures price of $650.00 each. We expect the wine to be available in late September, 2007.

Don't miss out on this scarce Napa Valley cult wine!
Call the Duke today and order yours!!