Wines in the Cellar

One of the things I’m guilty of is holding on to wines that I really should be drinking. The reasons for this are many. For one, some wines like the handful of classified growth Bordeaux I have, I feel like I have to wait for a special occasion. Another reason is not wanting to open wines that we bought on vacation. That $10 euro wine we brought back from Italy that’s probably already started its down-hill slide… still in the cellar. With some, I loved the first bottle so much that I don’t want to open the second because I wouldn’t be able to find a replacement.

Anyway, I’m trying to get over this and I think I took a baby step forward with the 2003 Perrin & Fills Les Sinards Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We had some friends over for dinner, went through the first two bottles and I was looking for a third to open. This was it.

The wine was deep purple in color with really earthy notes of smoke and leather mixed in with dark fruit including blackberry and black cherry. The wine was smooth with a nice long and lush finish. It’s a blend of 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, and 15% Mourvedre.

I loved this wine and gave it a B+. It also made me want to explore the Rhone Valley more, an region I know relatively little about.

I didn’t sit on it forever. I might not have know what I was missing.

P.S. - One thing I like about Perrin & Fils is that they have a blog!