Saturday, January 16, 2010

La Vieille Ferme Rouge, 2007

La Vieille Ferme Rouge, 2007

Jean Pierre Perrin, of the famed Château de Beaucastel, established La Vieille Ferme over 35 years ago, when he chose to produce an inexpensive, straightforward Rhône wine to sell by direct mail to French wine lovers. Initially, they made only Côtes du Rhône, but steeply rising grape prices in 1976 caused him to switch to Côtes du Ventoux and eventually to produce a white wine from the mountainous Côtes du Luberon. La Vieille Ferme was introduced to the United States in the late 1970s. This Côtes du Ventoux is a blend of 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% Carignan and 15% Cinsault. The 2007 vintage is excellent and this wine is made in a typical Rhone Valley style with good fruit, nice spice and soft tannins. The color is a dark cherry red and there are nice aromas of cherry, plum and wet earth. This is a medium bodied wine with a smooth mouth-feel and flavors of black cherry, plum, black pepper and leather. The tannins are soft and well integrated and there is gentle acidity and a trace of minerals that adds to the overall balance. This is an excellent everyday wine that will pair well with most food and is also delicious on its own. La Vieille Ferme Rouge is a nice value wine that can be found in the Seattle area for about $9.

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