Some people are very organized that have a cellar, I have to tell you, we are not them people.  Some times we are thinking of a certain wine to go with a dish for dinner, and at the last minute, another wine clicks in.  Other times you think that you are getting organized and will have optimum performance from the cellar, and then it is, I don’t feel like that tonight.  Here are two stories.

I went into the cellar and came back with a bottle that has been kind of a go-to for me since high school and it was a bottle of Domaines Perrin La Vieille Ferme Rhone Valley 1996 which is now called Famille Perrin.  While Famille Perrin, a wine maker and a negocient, is a relatively new company founded in 1997, the Perrin family has been making wine since the early 1900’s when Pierre Perrin inherited the Chateau de Beaucastel estate.  They are now in the fifth generation of a family owned and managed business.  Besides the original estate, they make wines with famous appellations, and regional wines from the Rhone Valley.  Their portfolio also includes the La Vieille Ferme brand which started in the 1970’s and they also have Miraval.  They produce Red, White and Rosé wines and surprisingly the majority of the wines that they produce center around the three famous varietals of the region; Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, though there are nine more varietals that are sanctioned, but seldom seen. The Cotes du Rhone appellation was created in 1937 as a catch-all for all the wines not from the more prestigious regions of the Rhone Valley and it is now one of the largest selling districts in France.  The name of the wine translates to “the old farm.”  This old of a wine is not on their site, but it is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre.  The cork was in excellent condition and so was the wine, which was a wonderful surprise for a twenty-six-year-old, which is older than our eldest grandchild who is out of college.  A deep ruby with no browning or foxing and still offered notes of black cherry.  On the palate the wine had traces of fruit, the tannins were all mellow and a short finish.  This wine over performed for its grade level.

The second wine that we experimented with from the cellar was Robert Talbott Vineyards Chardonnay Monterey Cuvee Cynthia 1999.  Now this winery is near and dear to my heart, as I used to get Christmas Cards from Audrey Talbott (the mother of Robert) for years, because she and her husband back in 1950 moved to Carmel and began making silk ties for men’s stores. Young Robert had no desire for the men’s wear and in 1982, the Diamond T Vineyard was planted and it began.  The Cuvee Cynthia was a small production of less than five-hundred-cases.  I have had this wine in the past, but alas the kitchen sink was the recipient of the wine, as it had stayed too long in the cellar, perhaps forgotten.