Celebration: 1997 Vieux Telegraphe

I thought it time to celebrate tonight. Not a major thing like an anniversary, but a night to celebrate that my two great kids came over to spend the day with us on Mother's day, to celebrate daughter Karn's very successful run in the Fifth Third race yesterday, to celebrate our friend Allison Fouch - an LPGA tour rookie - and her second place finish to Annika in the Michelob Ultra and the 138,000 she earned, and to celebrate cousin Jed Lowrie's day yesterday. He was 3 for 4 yesterday for the Boston Red Sox in his rookie season, including his first major league homer, and is now batting .310 in the majors.
So I popped the '97 VT. (OK, I didn't do a known biggie because it was only me, Bether not drinking tonight.)
This is why I love wine. A wine that exceeds by far your wildest expectations,. A wine that may not earn major points on anybody's rating sheet, but which totally satisfies the soul. A wine that I would never, based on reviews, serve to wine loving friends, but tonight, I wish I had. A wine that reminds me why, among all styles, I love mature CdP.
This is not big, or bold. It is medium - in depth of color (brick), and body, and fruit, and acid, and fully resolved tannins. Many would say it is thin, but I say it is a wine in perfect balance. It tastes of pure adult Chateauneuf - with the black fruit, leather, bacon, and pepper. The short finish is nevertheless sweet. A 1997 everybody panned. How surprising, and how wonderful.
-ow
Oh crap. The red sox are on ESPN2. Jed isn't there. Alex Cora is playing Shortstop. Jed was brought up to cover for injured players, and did so quite well. But they are healed now, and have returned to claim their spot, and Boston has sent Jed back to Triple-A Pawtucket. The day after he proves his worth, he is sent down. He will return.

[Jenise]

I love notes that weave the wine into everyday life, which is the way most of us not only drink them but remember them by. And your friends and relatives are more interesting than most--congrats to them all. Great wine, btw, you captured it perfectly. But then I've never had a bad bottle of VT, just some that were more ready than others.

The worst VT I've ever had was a 1998, the first one I opened and that was, I think, in 2002. It was angular, disjointed, acidic, fruitless, and disgusting. I stayed that way, pretty much, for 3 or 4 more years. Last year, a bottle from the same case was just fine, though it went considerably down hill between day one and day two.