1983 Novitiate Red Diner Wine

[Kcwhippet]

Now I'm really confused about a lot of things going on here. It appears the Mirassou family sold their brand to Gallo back in the fall of 2001. Gallo got only the brand name and the current inventory, not any of the vineyards or facilities. The sixth generation of the Mirassou family went to work for Gallo to produce the "new" Mirassou wines up in Healdsburg. The fifth generation stayed at the old facility on Aborn Rd. and renamed the winery La Rochelle. So, it's the same people making the same wine from the same vineyards at the same facility, but under a new name. Incidentally, it's really difficult to find the name Mirassou associated with La Rochelle anywhere, ala Walter Taylor at Bully Hill. La Rochelle says they have another tasting room on College Ave in Los Gatos which is the Novitiate, but maybe they share space with Testarossa, because it turns out that the Jesuits still own all of the Novitiate. They only lease out the winery facility, first to Mirassou and now to Testarossa (and maybe part to La Rochelle). BTW, Philip, Rob Jensen is the owner of Testarossa. Be that as it may, the 1983 Novitiate wine only has value as a label curiosity, and my previous estimate may have been too high. The wine inside was never that good to begin with, and the years can not have been kind.