La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Ventoux, 2007

If you need large quantities of a red wine for holiday entertaining, this is an excellent choice. I have seen prices as low as $5.99 a bottle or $10.99 a magnum, and, in some cases, the distributor is offering a mail-in rebate. More important, it's an excellent wine that goes well with almost any food.

It's a medium crimson, bright and clear. The Perrin brothers of Chateau Beaucastel know how to make a wine that's expressive of its Southern Rhone origins and traditions. Smells and flavors are bursting with red berries, but this is by no means a simple wine. I smell garrigue, more berries and then some black pepper. It's reasonably full bodied and glides down the throat like silk. No hard edges, but no soft ones either. Ripe but not over-ripe. Perfectly proportioned and priced. La Vieille Ferme can be relied on to prduce an enjoyable wine year after year, but the 2007 is special. Every time I open a bottle, I wonder why I don't drink it more often.