Today, we celebrate one of the GREAT stages of the year as well as my ascent to the TOP of the Veloleague with another /WORLD TOUR WINE/ !!

Today's koers ran directly thru Chateauneuf-du-Pape; attention payers will remember the SENSATIONAL bottle of 2015 Mas de Boislauzon CdP Tintot from Paris-Nice (which encouraged me to buy three bottles of the 2016 vintage). As I do not like to repeat myself, we have decide to find a bottle from the mythical appellation of Mont VENTOUX itself!

Famille Perrin La Vielle Ferme Cotes du Ventoux 2023 ($10.99)

Famille Perrin is one of the great winemakers of the Southern Rhone, with a collection of wines and styles ranging from this bottle up to their Grand Vin -- Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I have never had La Vielle Ferme before, but I do admit that I enjoy their "budget" Cotes du Rhone (Coudoulet de Beaucastel) as one of my go-to wines. La Vielle Ferme is grown on the slopes of Ventoux, and we have a typical Rhone blend to enjoy, although with a bit of a different mix - Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache, and Syrah.

Pours quite a dark ruby. The nose is surprisingly good - fresh raspberry, fresh strawberry, light licorice, and just a touch of bacon and pepper (I wonder how much Syrah is blended). There is some complexity to the nose, but definitely fruit forward. The palate is bone dry, with dusty tannins. There is a mélange of fruit and savory notes fighting through the tannins. The finish is short, without much acidity. The blend is great and obviously a well-made wine, but it is a bit hollow.

Boy, I was so hopeful based on the nose, but the structure definitely falls apart. For $11, this is great, a great food wine. I will probably stick with Coudoulet as my go-to Cotes du Rhone (which is like $35) but this is totally serviceable and widely-available.