Cairanne

I liked this wine so much that I forgot to take a picture until we polished it off. So, please forgive me for the image of an empty bottle, but know that it’s a sign of a delicious wine.

Maison Brotte’s 2020 Creation Grosset Cairanne is just $15.99 on wine.com and gets 89 points from James Suckling. Not a bad rating for an entire bottle that costs less than a beer at a baseball game in New York! This wine is mostly Grenache grapes, with some Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Carignan too. It has a ruby red color in your glass, and a bit of a rustic, sawdust smell, with a hint of dark berry jam and some dried herbs. It’s lighter and smoother tasting than its aromas suggest. I’d consider it medium-bodied, which is perfect for the start of spring. You’ll feel the tannins on your tongue, but they’re soft and not overwhelming. This Cairanne has a little spice to it, and a nice long finish. It’s both lighter than I expected, but also screaming for meat. I’d drink it with beef, duck with olives, or a chicken stew.

Some fun facts about Cairanne, if you’ve never heard of it or tried its wines. (This was my first.) Cairanne is a wine region in the southern Rhône Valley in France. According to the Oxford Companion to Wine, Cairanne is “one of the highest and best of the Côtes du Rhône villages” and is “unusually well suited to Syrah.” Typically, the southern Rhône is too hot for Syrah, so Grenache blends are more common here. Most people are more familiar with Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas wines from the southern Rhône, so you can find some great values in lesser known, Cairanne.

Bonus info: this Maison Brotte also makes a terrific shower wine. After shocking a friend by telling her that I’d never brought red wine into the shower, I filled up a plastic stemless glass and gave this a go on a cool day… a perfect pairing for a steaming hot rinse. :)

Chin!