Carignane is an odd little red grape. It’s used mostly for blending -- in California to produce jug and inexpensive red blends, and in the Rhone region of France, where it’s the poor cousin of syrah, grenache and mouvedre.
This single-varietal carignane, from Dallas’ Time Ten Cellars ($15), shows the grape off to nice advantage. It has a funky, Rhone-like aroma (wine types call it bacon fat), but plenty of New World style fruitiness, including a big dose of cranberry (something to keep in mind come Thanksgiving). It’s not especially tannic, and the alcohol is a well-done 13.8 percent. This makes it an ideal red wine for hot summer days and good barbecue, be it pork or smoked chicken.
And don’t be confused about the grape’s spelling. It’s carignan in France and carignane in the U.S.
Carignane has a bad rap due to the phylloxera plague in Europe. In desperation winegrowers moved this vine to fertile lowlands to fill tanks. It makes wonderful wine grown on poorer soils at higher elevations in both France and Spain. Here in Texas it thrives above 3000 ft on the right soil. Try Becker Prairie Rotie 07 to get a taste of what it's like on The High Plains.
Posted by: Bobby Cox | August 12, 2008 at 06:27 AM