Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food A Red for the Holidays
by David Scott Allen
Winery: Domaine Lafage
Cuvée: Narassa
Appellation: Côtes Catalanes
Type: Red
Vintage: 2019
Grape Varieties: 82% Grenache and 18% Syrah
Alcohol: 15%
Average Retail Price: U.S. $20.00
For the month of December, I created a fusion dish featuring Mexican, Dutch, Western Chinese, and Moroccan flavors — my Lamb Quesadilla. While obviously not an authentic dish, it is truly delicious and was actually the product of a dream I had. I have discovered that if I go to sleep thinking of what I might want to make for dinner, my subconscious keeps working after I nod off until it comes up with something marvelous. To get the recipe, visit Cocoa & Lavender. (Happily, my subconscious seems to have good taste!)
A dish with the robust flavors such as those I put into the quesadilla requires a wine of some intensity with a good amount of fruit and spice. The wine selected for this pairing fits the bill perfectly: a 2019 blend of Grenache and Syrah from Domaine Lafage — their cuvée Narassa, not to be confused with the evil Disney Queen Narissa. This wine couldn’t be any nicer, or more reasonably priced!
Domaine Lafage is in the IGP Côtes Catalanes within the coastal region of Languedoc-Roussillon. Narassa is a beautifully crafted wine with a deep Ruby color and aromas of blackberry, black cherry, leather, and fresh herbs. On the palate it is velvety and full bodied, with more fruit — black cherry and black raspberry — and warm spices like cinnamon and anise, and a hint of rose petal. It’s tannins are soft, giving it a smooth and pleasant mouthfeel and long finish.
As much as I liked/loved my quesadilla, and the fact that the wine paired seamlessly with it, it is the wine that captured my heart and palate. I returned to the wine store and bought out their inventory, small as it was. I very much look forward to future vintages of Narassa and other wines from Domaine Lafage. To me, this wine will have broad appeal to your guests, and will easily pair with most any holiday meal you are serving: beef, turkey, ham, salmon, and — of course — lamb.
David, the Narassa Cuvée sounds wonderful, looking forward to the recipe for the Lamb Quesadilla tomorrow morning.
Thanks, Barb! It was a perfect pairing — I’m keeping my eye out for more!
That looks like an excellent wine – I know the region well and have French friends with vineyards in Fenouillèdes. Roussillon once belonged to Catalunya and was ceded to France in 1659 as part of the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), hence Côtes Catalanes.