Past its Prime?

I’ve purchased a number of bargain bottles recently in hopes of assessing shelf life for $10-$15 wine.  This little blurb was on the back label of Louis Bernard Chateau Bosc La Croix Côtes du Rhône, ’01 ($9):

“Enjoy within three years.”

The bottle is well over three years old.  So I wonder what the marketing genius was thinking when including this statement on the label.  I think, “enjoy over the next three years,” would have been a much better way of not alarming the consumer in the year 2005.  And to make things interesting, this bottle was still in good shape.

The Skinny
Louis Bernard Chateau Bosc La Croix Côtes du Rhône, ’01 ($9)

• Ruby in color with a distinct rusty/rootbeer rim
• Subdued scents of cedar, damp wood, ‘meatiness,’ and dried red fruits
• In the mouth the wine was also subtle - faint tannins, still balanced, and revealing mostly mature flavors.  However, the finish was rather brief, and it does seem on the downhill slope of life

*** (3 stars out of 5)

In spite of its own label, this wine is still very much alive, and very much a bargain.  It’s also a fine change of pace from the more commonly available exuberant, fruity red wines that dominate this price segment.  I had it with portabellos (portabella?) in tomato sauce over pasta, and it was just dandy.