Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Le Pique-Nique

Winery: Commanderie de la Bargemone
Cuvée: Commanderie de la Bargemone
Appellation: Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence
Type: Rosé
Vintage: 2020
Grape Varieties: 40% Grenache, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah, 10% Cinsault, 5% Rolle
Alcohol: 13%
Average Retail Price: US $16.00-$23.00

Picnic, anyone? Now is the time and, even if your temperatures don’t support being outdoors these days, today’s wine and food pairing is perfect for an indoor picnic. Just spread a blanket on the floor, put on a YouTube of forest sounds for background (hold the mosquitoes), add an oscillating fan for a light breeze, and you are almost ready to go. All you need to complete the picture is my recipe for Picnic Chicken and this nice, dry rosé. For the chicken recipe, please visit Cocoa & Lavender.

I wrote about the 2019 Commanderie de la Bargemone just two years ago and, while it was good, it wasn’t my favorite, and I ended my piece saying, “Let’s see what 2020 brings, shall we?” And here I am with said 2020 vintage in my glass. And it was unintentional. Susan asked if I would consider looking at it, neither of us remembering my earlier piece.

What makes me love or not love a wine? Is it food? Mood? The cépages? Temperature? Age? Or any/all of these? I am going with the latter. There are some wines I simply don’t like because they don’t sit right on my palate. And I know many of you are the same. In those cases, I blame the grapes. But all the other factors can make a huge difference in my enjoyment.

With the case in point, the 2020 Commanderie de la Bargemone rosé, many of the above-listed factors could be in play. To begin, the 2020 vintage has been available for two years (a year longer than the 2019 I tasted just a year after its release), and perhaps the extra year in the bottle made a difference. That can make a big difference in any wine, regardless of color. Speaking of color, this wine is a pale and very pretty salmon pink.

We opened the wine straight from the refrigerator and, even cold, it had a distinct nose of green apple and citrus on the nose. At first, I tasted tart fresh apricot and red currant. As the wine opened up (and warmed up) there was strawberry with a hint of white peach. The mouthfeel was soft and pleasant with a long finish and notes of caramel. My recommendation is that this wine be brought to a slightly warmer temperature before pouring.

It paired very nicely with the chicken and green beans: a nice but unremarkable pairing. However, we didn’t finish the bottle that evening and had it the next evening with a Spanish scallop recipe, and that was a fabulous pairing. Why am I not sharing the scallop recipe? Patience, my friends — it’s coming but isn’t photographed yet. Keep an eye out for it on Cocoa & Lavender.

In conclusion, it seems that the food and temperature really did make a difference in pairing this wine. After opening and allowing the wine to come to a slightly warmer temperature, it was so much more interesting to me; it was much more complex. And the food? A huge difference. The scallop dish brought out so much more in the wine. Mood? Who knows. Usually my mood is good when food and wine are in front of me, but you never know…

This is definitely a good summer wine, and at a reasonable price. (Note the price range is really wide — some sites have it even as low as $15 a bottle. Boutique wine shops and sites tend to be on the higher side.) If you find a bottle, let me know what you think.