Since Ann Vogel has decided to keep it simple for her suggested Valentine’s Day recipe, we’ll do the same for our wine pairing.
A hearty meal like Vogel’s suggested Valentine’s Day Pot Roast deserves a wine that can stand up to the weight of the meat and its sides, while also delivering full-bodied flavor.
For this reason we’re recommending Celler de Capçanes Montsant’s Mas Donis Barrica, a blend of 85 percent Grenache and 25 percent Syrah from Spain.
The winery is located 100 miles southwest of Barcelona and 20 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It’s wine history dates back to the middle ages, and while its vines haven’t been around since the middle ages, they are much older than any found in the United States.
The Grenache in this blend comes from 60-year-old vines, while the Syrah from significantly younger vines — the winery gives their age as 5 to 15 years. The wine is aged in new to 5-year-old French and American oak for nine months before it is blended in a tank, where it sits for three months before bottling.
The result of these techniques produces an energetic wine with raspberry on the nose, slight oak spices in the middle and a strong finish. Brynn recently paired this wine with a similar pot roast recipe, which called for two cups dry red wine. She chose the Mas Donis Barrica to flavor the roast. It was a perfect pair.
The wine did well with the tender meat — it’s slightly tangy finish easily met the hearty weight of the meat and potatoes.
Another great thing about this wine? It’s only $13 — a steal for something that received high marks from highly regarded wine connoisseurs Robert Parker and Stephen Tanzer.
