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Wines While Yountville's French Laundry is smack in the middle of one of the world's great winegrowing regions, Manhattan's Per Se is quite close to the up-and-coming vineyards on the North Fork of New York's Long Island. The flinty 2003 Jamesport Vineyards Cox Lane Chardonnay complements Benno's smoky-sweet corn and bacon chowder just as well as it does his herb-rubbed grilled game hens. Long Island also produces good Merlots, typically lighter and leaner than those from California. The cherry fruit—inflected 2002 Bedell Cellars Merlot and the velvety 2002 Comtesse Thérèse Traditional Merlot are both superb with Benno's first and main courses. As for dessert, the rich and honeyed 2003 Macari Block E is a great match for the caramel-drenched peach Tatin; the grapes are frozen before fermentation to concentrate the sugars in typical ice-wine style.