Your New Everyday Red

Your favorite new weekday wine is here!

Domaine D’Ansignan 2021 Petites Grappes Côtes du Rousillon doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it’s about to become your go to red wine. It just became mine.

This wine is a perfect springtime red, with light/medium to medium body. Plus, how cool is it to pour something a little different this printemps (that’s French for spring) than your usual Pinot Noir?!

So what are we drinking here?

Petites Grappes is a blend of 50% Grenache and 50% Carignan grapes from the granite soil of the Côtes du Roussillon, which is in the south of France, just north of the Mediterranean Sea and the Côte d’Azur. You’re probably familiar with Grenache grapes. Carignan isn’t as well known, but it’s widely planted in Roussillon and is usually blended with other red grapes because it can be really astringent. (Astringency is that stripped feeling you get on your teeth from drinks like tea.)

Roussillon was best known for cheap table wines until about the 1980s. But, in the last 40-50 years, some talented winemakers have started working with the land and producing some really great wines.

This Petites Grappes has a ruby color with a tinge of violet. It serves up a jammy nose, with hints of dried herbs. I picked up flavors of plums, dark cherry, and some graphite. It has bright acidity, sandpaper fine tannins, and a rustic quality about it that I adore. After a few sips, my husband, called this our new weekday wine and insisted we order a case. At $21.99 on wine.com, how could I resist?

We drank it with pork ramen which was a really cool pairing. I’d love this with pizza, chicken, or some shish kebabs on the grill. I’d serve this on the cooler side of room temperature: high 50s Fahrenheit.

James Suckling and Jeb Dunnuck, two wine critics I highly respect both give this wine 92/100 points. Definitely give it a try.

Chin!