Long a maker of one of the finest wines in the world--crafted from the Viognier grape--some vintages of that decade were modest at best, even as surrounding estates produced wines of great stature.

Nobody knows for sure what was going on, but what is known is that Denis Dubourdieu has done a marvelous job of righting the ship since his hiring in 2001.

That decade of experience served him well recently when Chateau-Grillet was sold by the Baratin-Canet family--which had owned it since 1830--to Francois Pinault.

If the Pinault name sounds familiar, it's because he also is the owner of another rather well-known French wine estate: Chateau Latour in Bordeaux. Grillet, located in the northern Rhone, makes a very nice addition to the portfolio.

And the good news is that Pinault has decided to keep Dubourdieu on as Grillet's winemaker.