Off to Persia

A hundred bottles seems like a lot. But, looking back, it was only in May when we opened a bottle of Domaine de Fondreche and added it to The List at #459. I wrote a bit about the winery at that time; so, I won't just repeat myself all over again. The Fondreche team, however, is lauded as a view to what winemaking can become in a previously unheralded region.

552. 2005 Domaine de Fondreche Persia (AOC Cotes du Ventoux - France)

In 2007, wine writer extraordinaire, Robert Parker, in The Wine Advocate, said that Domaine de Fondreche "is the superstar estate of the Cotes du Ventoux." He also said that the 2005 Domaine de Fondreche Persia "is the best dry white of the Cotes du Ventoux, exhibiting lovely honeysuckle notes with rose petal, crushed rocks and other floral notes."

That was then and this is now. I think the bottle must have been past its "best before date" because we didn't find any of those characteristics and, frankly, if this is the best dry white that the region has to offer, I don't know that I'll be quick to re-visit.

The wine is 100% Roussanne which is great because I haven't added the varietal to my Wine Century Club list yet. So, all wasn't lost with this bottle. It's a varietal primarily found in the Rhone and we don't see much of it here in BC, particularly as a straight varietal wine. So, to be fair, I don't have a lot of understanding of what makes for a good Roussanne, but I think, in the future, I'd make an effort to drink up a lot sooner after it's bottled.

We'll just have to chalk this bottle up to a case of misadventure - and one of life's little necessities to make the Wine Century Club.