Thursday, April 16, 2015

Chateau Pesquie Terrasses Ventoux, 2011

Ventoux has been one of my favorite appellations for many years, and my love for these wines is based not only from the wonderful fruit-driven smells and flavors but also the outrageous values these wines offer. The Perrins La Vieille Ferme is an excellent wine year after year--a wine that you can enjoy with pizza or rack of lamb. And you can usually buy it for $5 to $7 a bottle. Other favorites include Font-Sane's Vieilles Vignes, Altitude 500 and Cuvee des Trois Messes Basses--all selling for less than $10. The latter two are cooperative wines, but there is nothing wrong with that; the coop has the technology and the equipment needed to do justice to grapes coming from what I consider a very fine appellation.

Pesquie's Terrasses is another very good Ventoux that has been marketed much more effectively than the above wines and, as a result, sells for two or three times as much. I buy it when I see it at special pricing. As for this 2011, I liked it better a year or two ago, but it is still a very enjoyable wine. Blueberries, plums and spice with a pleasing black pepper finish.

At the excellent Blackbird restaurant in Chicago, I recently had the chance to try another "premium" Ventoux--Philippe Gimel's St. Jean du Barroux. It sells for upwards of $25 a bottle, and, for that premium, you get a wine that is smoother and more elegant on the palate but decidedly more international and modern in its aroma and flavor profile.

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