Steff.me

I bought this bottle of wine when I was ten years old, in a rather large wine store in France. I can’t remember how much it cost, but that wasn’t considered when I was buying it. At the time I really liked antiques and when I saw this, wandering around the wine store, I asked my mum to pick it up for me. Since then, it’s been stored in the worst places possible. Under the stairs, in the cloakroom then we moved house and it came along only to be stored in the garage and then the kitchen.

Pere Anselme La Fiole du Pape.

The wine was meant to be opened on my 18th birthday - that was the plan we all set out for after I wasn’t a huge wine fan but we assumed I may grow to like it by the time I was 18. That birthday came and went without the wine being opened — much to my step dad’s disappointment. I told everyone this year that I’d open it for Christmas. That day came and went, too. I’d already had too much champagne by 12 o’clock that it seemed like a waste to open this wine.

So, finally, I opened it.

My step dad, mother and I really didn’t hold out much hope of it tasting of anything other than vinegar. It had had a difficult time moving around with improper storage and suchlike that it didn’t seem to have a chance of tasting right. Still, I left it to decant for two hours just to give it a chance.

Maybe it didn’t taste right. Maybe it was just the small gathering being really excited to try it. Maybe it was recounting the story of how this wine came to be with us. The wine was great.

I can’t describe the wine better than how my mum did. I’m not a huge wine drinker, so other than “I like this” and “I don’t like this”, I’m not much use. This is what she said during the tasting.

I get a field. A wet field, as it’s just been raining. I’m getting bark, you know, bark of a tree. There’s definitely an oak tree, with acorns on the ground beneath it in the wet grass. Maybe some mushrooms too.

She then takes a sip.

It’s so smooth. I’m still getting the oak tree, but it is very smooth. Ooh, there’s a squirrel in the tree!

Insert lots of laughter here.

It also tastes a lot like a Côtes du Rhône, it has the spices and pepper of a Côtes du Rhône. Hmm… I just got a taste of berries too; blueberry or raspberry.

After drinking the wine I decided to go search for “Pere Anselme La Fiole du Pape” online, just to see if there was any information about it. The official description of the wine from the producers website is:

A ruby robe made brilliant by its iridescent reflections shows that this wine is mature. The nose of dried fruit, wood, truffles, venaison, and spice is complex and warm and balances perfectly. On the palate, this wine is surprising in its depth and its tannic finish. — Brotte.com

As I hadn’t shown my mum the description of the wine before she drank it, I find it quite radool (check out Gary Vaynerchuk) that the way she described it was fairly similar. I found it funny that they mention venaison (deer), especially since she said there was a squirrel in the tree somewhere. Some form of meaty aspect.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this wine and I’m hoping that as we move in to 2008 I’ll start drinking that more than just beer and whisky. I’m subscribed to the great podcast Wine Library TV and so I’m hoping my enthusiasm will grow as I continue to watch.

Happy New Year.