Last night I flew home from visiting relatives on the east coast of the United States. This time, I did not make the same mistake I made a week before. Unlike last week, this week I did not order wine on the plane. Instead I opted to sleep for the entire 4 hour flight.
When I got home, I was totally motivated to unpack, go through my mail, and tidy up a little bit. I think the nap on the plane gave me a big burst of energy. As I started unpacking, I felt that something was missing. What was missing? A big glass of wine of course.
To reconcile the situation, I opened a bottle of wine I bought a few weeks ago at the BevMo 5 cent sale. The wine was a Chateau Haut Perthus Bergerac.
It was absolutely terrible. Now I'm not exageratting here. It reminded me of a really bad wine you'd get at a crappy Irish pub. It was bitter and tasted vinegary- and I'm positive it hadn't turned yet. It was bad enought that I did what is usually unthinkable for me- I dumped it. I figured if I kept drinking it, I would not only be annoyed by how bad it was, but I'd also be assured a massive hangover in the morning. Definitely avoid this one!
Recommendation: Don't buy it
Thanks for the tip but usually those wines selected for the 5 cents Bevmo sale are just good for vinegar ;-) if I remember well this deal is on the second bottle, right? so you have another bottle to deal with! A nice gift for someone you don't like ;-)
Looks like the 1998 vintage got a bronze medal in a wine contest (Macon 99). It's a long trip for wine to get on US market...some travel in better conditions than others, some don't support the move and get bad...pretty unpredictable. It would be interesting to taste the same one close to its production site.
Posted by: Pascal | November 07, 2006 at 12:23 PM
I've just tested 2004 Chateau Haut Perthus Bergerac. Full bodied, low to medium acidity, fruits, tobacco, oak notes. It should breath 30-40 min. It's more interesting than most of California wines in $20-30 price range.
Posted by: Alex | July 28, 2009 at 09:17 PM
So what do you know anyway? I have been fortunate in that the gov't store in Whitehorse stocks this wine, vintage 2006. This is a nice wine, well under $20, and is by far better than cheap new vintages from the US, Canada, Australia. Smooth and tasty with anything or on its own.
Posted by: Scott Snider | November 25, 2009 at 08:48 AM
I reckon! I tasted 2006 vintage three days ago and now i have a case of it. You prob. got a spoiled bottle, or 2001 is not a good year for this bargain drink. Exceptional romantic rosy color, red berry fruits, layers of herbs and light spices, mid-length after taste with hints of oakiness, smokiness!!
Posted by: Arica | August 30, 2010 at 11:03 PM