Clot de l'Oum La Compagne des Papillons Roussillon 2002

As I begin to write, Stephanie is kindly rinsing the dishes that very recently contained a delicious meal. Today was our first cool day in weeks, so I took advantage and did some slow cooking. I prepared duck and chicken cassoulet with white beans, carrots, and smoked sausage. We were quite pleased with the results, particularly when accompanied by a loaf of peasant bread. Although I intended to serve two wines with the meal, the onset of a minor cold convinced me to only open one. The white cotes du rhone from Dom. de la Solitude will have to wait until another night.

This syrah from the Roussillon was a lovely match for the meal. The aroma bursts with cigar tobacco - seriously, not just hints of tobacco, but honest to goodness I just stepped into a humidor tobacco. Despite this powerful aroma, the wine's palate was really pleasant, with more tobacco, along with black pepper, olive, dried meat, and blueberry notes. The medium-full body and the substantial tannins would perhaps be better suited to a richer dish, but it proved to be a superb accompaniment to the cassoulet. I probably should have taken Charlie's advice and gone with a Cahors or a Madiran.