It’s Sunday, 11:50 am: nothing is ready, the beasts (my children) becoming impatient. One word: hunger. Indeed another one: fast.
I am not very smart in the kitchen, so I open the fridge which suggests me two ingredients: sausage and leeks. A quick look on the web (I said, I’m not smart in the kitchen) and here we go: pasta with sausage and leek sauce. Quick and tasty sauce that requires inevitably to sprinkle with red wine (which obviously must accompany the dish). And here I put my own suggestion: I open a Persia rouge 2019, an AOC Ventoux produced by Domaine de Fondreche.
Let’s geolocalize the bottle: the AOC Ventoux is part of the Southern area of the Vallée du Rhône, arranged around Mount Ventoux, also known as Géant de Provence, with vineyards among the oldest ones in France and a soil rich in geological varieties (calcareous, sandy clayey, detrital). The black grape varieties of the AOC Ventoux include Grenache noir, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Carignan.
Returning to Persia wine, we have a blend of 90% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre. Careful harvest and selection of the bunches, fermentation between 14 and 21 days, aging for 12 months on the lees in barrique and foudre.
The color is a very bright and intense ruby red with violet reflections, the nose is an explosion of ripe and intense cherries, cassis, blackberry, violet, thyme followed by a note of white pepper and ink. The sip is full and very rich and – I am amazed – the tannins, despite being a young 2019, do not give any discomfort, indeed. Even if it is 14.5% vol, the sensation remains light and pleasant, making it easy to pair.
And going back to to my Sunday dish (especially a quick dish), the sausage and leek sauce, beautifully full of taste and aroma, is well balanced by the aromatic palette and soft texture of this Ventoux.
Anyhoo, a beautiful discovery this almost unknown, but very valid Appelation of the Vallée du Rhône.