Vacqueyras

Vacqueyras is a bold, dry red from the Southern Rhône Valley in France, usually built around Grenache with Syrah and Mourvèdre in the mix. Expect ripe blackberry, plum and cherry with pepper, herbs and spice. Rich and warming, it's made for steak, roast lamb, beef stew, BBQ food and slow-cooked meat.

Taste:

Big fruit, plenty of spice and definitely not shy.

Vacqueyras is typically dry and full-bodied, with moderate to firm tannins and flavours of blackberry, black cherry, raspberry and plum. That ripe fruit is joined by black pepper, dried herbs, liquorice, earth and warming spice.

You may also notice flavours often described as garrigue in Rhône wines. Less helpfully, nobody outside a wine tasting knows what that means. Think fragrant Mediterranean herbs such as thyme, rosemary and lavender.

As it ages, Vacqueyras can develop more savoury notes of leather, tobacco, dried fruit and earthy spice.

Food Pairings:

Vacqueyras likes its food big, rich and full of flavour.

Pair it with steak, ribeye, roast beef, beef stew, beef casserole, slow-cooked beef, beef short ribs, lamb chops, roast lamb or a slow-cooked lamb shoulder.

It's also right at home at a BBQ. Burgers, BBQ ribs, grilled steak, lamb kebabs, smoky sausages and barbecued vegetables can all handle the wine's ripe fruit and spice.

Mediterranean dishes are another great shout. Try it with lamb tagine, moussaka, herb-roasted vegetables, aubergine dishes or tomato-based stews loaded with rosemary and thyme.

For cheese, mature Cheddar, Comté, Gruyère and other strong, hard cheeses have enough flavour to keep up.

Basically, this probably isn't the bottle for your delicate side salad.

Similar Wines:

If you enjoy Vacqueyras, Gigondas is an obvious next stop for another rich, spicy Southern Rhône red.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape takes you further into the region's famous Grenache-led blends, while Côtes du Rhône can offer a more accessible introduction to the same general family of flavours.

Fans of Vacqueyras may also enjoy Garnacha from Spain or Priorat if it's the ripe fruit, herbs and spice that keep you coming back.

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More About Vacqueyras:

Vacqueyras comes from the Southern Rhône Valley in southeastern France, close to the better-known appellations of Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Red wine dominates production, with Grenache forming the backbone of the blend and Syrah and Mourvèdre commonly adding darker fruit, spice, colour and structure.

Vacqueyras was once sold under the broader Côtes du Rhône classification before earning its own appellation status in 1990.

It still doesn't have quite the household-name status of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which isn't necessarily bad news. If you're looking for serious Southern Rhône character without automatically reaching for its most famous neighbour, Vacqueyras knows exactly what it's doing.