Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

A Hybrid Pairing

Winery: Château Barbebelle
Cuvée: Cuvée Madeleine
Appellation: Coteaux d’Aix en Provence
Type: Rosé
Vintage: 2022
Grape Varieties: 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Cinsault
Alcohol: 13%
Average Retail Price: U.S. $17.00-20.00, France €10.00

When I looked on the Château Barbebelle website for pairing ideas for the 2022 release of their Cuvée Madeleine Rosé, I was torn between their suggestions for fatty fish — tuna, salmon, swordfish — and the fresh, lightness of ceviche. It brought to mind a sort of hybrid recipe of the two that I have been making — a recipe from Food and Wine for Poached Tuna with Kumquats and Jalapeño. All the richness and texture of the fatty tuna with all the bright acidity of the ceviche. You can get the recipe on Cocoa & Lavender.

This pairing and tasting was done, once again, with Susan and Towny via zoom. It always warms my heart to see their faces, and cook/dine together, even if on a computer screen.

Château Barbebelle is run by fourth generation winemaker Madeleine Premmereur and her husband, Valentin. I have written about many of their wines here on PWZ, including Alex’s Wine and even this same cuvée about three years ago. I really love their wines — they always have just the perfect wine to pair with my recipes.

The 2022 Cuvée Madeleine Rosé is a beautiful pale salmon pink. It has an aromatic nose — banana taffy and light red fruit.

On the palate, it is soft and silky smooth with nice viscosity. Light red fruits and citrus dominate with hints of cotton candy and a finish of clementine zest — just a tad of that sweet-bitter skin.

We all agreed that the pairing was fabulous. Each component of the dish was elevated by the wine — tuna, kumquat, jalapeño, mint, and lime. The dish and wine together are exquisite. In Susan’s words, “It’s synergistic.” There was no competition; all was complimentary.

The wine on it’s own is really lovely but it reached its potential with this dish. The kumquat, especially, sang in the pairing and, as everyone pointed out, the butter was important. (Duh.)

The dish is very easy and quick to make, and the 2022 Cuvée Madeleine is now available in the States. Do yourself a favor and bring this pairing to your table. (Note: my recipe on Cocoa & Lavender gives a substitution if kumquats are unavailable.)