It Takes A Village To Make This Wine
France is home to the huge Rhône wine growing region. Its sloped vineyards produce gargantuan quantities of primarily red wine. They straddle both banks of the mighty Rhône river as it makes its way to the Mediterranean sea. Within the smaller regional appellation of Côtes du Rhône Villages, 22 villages are allowed to be specifically identified if 100% of the production comes from within that village’s boudaries. Cairanne is one of those villages one will find at the top of ”Villages” ranking nestled in the heart of the southern Rhone valley. The exceptional plateau-based terroir sports pebbles and sandy soils giving us well balanced, age worthy wines. A regional phenomenon is the Mistral, a wind that rushes down the Rhône River valley and provides a welcoming cooling effect in this otherwise extremely hot climate.
Vidal-Fleury is a highly respected regional producer. Founded in 1781, it is the oldest continuously operating winery in the Rhône Valley. This wine is a blend of the local favourite varieties of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. However, Grenache dominates most aspects of this wine - dark chocolate, plum and a cherry nose finishing with pepper. There is great structure on the palate crowned by a smooth, firm length due to the well integrated tannins.
May be aged further for 5-7 years. Rare red meats simply roasted are the perfect match. But let’s be more adventurous and go for a Provençal lamb stew. Typical herbs used in Provençal cooking such as thyme, rosemary, oregano and basil provide the perfect foil to this wine’s peppery notes..
Cheese wise, let’s go local pairing this Cairanne village production with Oka cheese from Québec.