Thanks for the memories, Olive Grove!

 

I often "save" a wine that is expensive for a special occasion. I will often "save" a bottle of wine that is important to me for one reason or another. I will often "save" a bottle because it was just damn delicious and there aren't many left in the world (i.e. Orin Swift wines)! But at any given point in time when I decide to save a wine, I have a legitimate reason (at least in my mind).

 

When I do such a thing, I am usually faced with a dilemma because I never want to open the bottle because when it's gone it's gone!  So, with Orin wines that I know I love, I purchase two at a time so I know that I always have one in reserve. Or I purchase two more at at time because I know I already have two in the cellar and God forbid I run out!

 

It's also a challenge to hold onto white wines because they don't age as well as red wines.
 Typically, white wines shouldn't be "saved" for more than two years.  I decided to tempt fate (or the wine gods) and preserved a Chardonnay for seven years. Gasp! Yep, seven years!  However, I also had this wine in a "wine fridge" at the proper temperature and have not touched it since 2007 (or maybe 2008).  I didn't know when, but I knew one day, the right day, I would open it and enjoy it (hopefully) again.

 

Sometimes I save a wine that I have had and loved because it's pricey and I justify buying it by waiting to open it for a particular celebration - a birthday, an anniversary, Christmas, Easter.

Sometimes I save it because my heart and soul just NEEDS it.

 

Well, when I got home from work this evening, I decided today was the day to open up that

2006 Olive Grove Chardonnay from D'Arenburg Cellars, Australia.
 

My heart and soul NEEDED it... more than I even realized.

 

 

 

To my sheer delight, this wine smelled EXACTLY like it did almost eight years ago.

Honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, perfectly buttered and toasted sourdough bread. 

It's golden color, like no other that I have seen before, was still perfectly shining. 

I was already happy and holding my breath that when I tasted one of my first ever favorite Chardonnays that the taste too would be exactly the same.

 

I cannot begin to explain that not only did it smell and taste the same but it took me back to a point in time where I actually started feeling the way that I did back then.

 

2007 was a tumultuous time for me personally, but it was also oddly balanced with hope, contentment, independence, strength and a sense of newfound, and much needed, peace. 

I often say, 2007, and he, gave me ME back.

 

With a simple sip and then finishing off a glass of this nostalgic Aussie wine, I was quickly taken back in time and reflecting without even realizing it.  This was one of the first wines I had ever come across at my "happy place" and quickly became one of my favorite wines.  One could say I found my happy place with this wine, figuratively and literally. 

 

Naturally, it was in high demand there and while I bought quite a few bottles, being a new wine drinker, I had no idea it would eventually disappear... forever.  Luckily, for me, my other happy place, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, had this wine and I was able to purchase a bottle a few years later - which is the one I preserved and opened this evening.

 

 

 

This wine came into my life for a reason, just like he did. 

I used to believe that when I finally opened this last bottle of Olive Grove that I would also be letting go of memories.  Knowing this was the last bottle, I tried to hold on to it as long as I could. It was silly to think that once it was gone, the memories would be gone as well. However, with that in mind, I decided today was the day to "release it" once and for all. Whatever will be will be.

 

This wine made me feel exactly as I did when I first tasted it and I am so excited and at the same time relieved.  This wine represents memories in a bottle; good ones. No, not just good ones....fantastic, irreplaceable ones.

 

This wine pairs well with Damien Rice, the everybodyfields, Joe Purdy and Jason Mraz music. It pairs well with solitude and moments of self-reflection. It pairs well with an open mind, an open heart and a beautiful July evening as the sun is setting and all becomes right with the world even if just for a moment.

 

While it is evident that over the years, my tastes have changed, this incredible Chardonnay, still evokes an overwhelming feeling of euphoria, contentment, appreciation and gratefulness for the love and memories it bestows upon me.  It also brought about a few tears but this comment from him, "It was a good one for sure" made my heart smile more than anyone (myself included) could ever imagine.

 

Love never ends; it just takes on a different form.

 

I can't go back.

I don't want to go back.

But it is so very nice to remember.

 

Thanks for the memories, Olive Grove.

 It definitely was a good one.