2017 Piquemal Côtes du Roussillon Tradition 750 ml

A Wine Access exclusive from a respected publication’s Winemaker of the Year—for just $13.99?! That’s exactly what we have on our hands with the 2017 Domaine Piquemal Côtes du Roussillon Tradition. Le Guide Hachette des Vins, one of France’s most revered publications, honored third-generation winemaker Marie-Pierre Piquemal as 2018 Roussillon Winemaker of the Year for her work guiding her family’s domaine. Lesser-known and more sun-baked than their neighbors to the north, Roussillon wines share the Grenache and Syrah varieties with the best wines of the Côtes du Rhône—but in the Roussillon, they come up in a climate that more closely resembles that of nearby Spain. Ripe, rich, and fleshy, aged in tank and in bottle, the 2017 Tradition boasts the perfect combination of ripe fruit, herbal complexity, and drink-now freshness. For Rhône lovers willing to walk a bit out of their region, this is a no-brainer deal and should be a legitimate contender for a new house wine. Shipping included on cases.

Because it is the post-hyphen part of Languedoc-Roussillon, the sunny, Spain-adjacent region of Roussillon can be overshadowed: by the Rhône to the north, and by Spain’s famous Priorat region to the south. This is an injustice. But if it means that we can continue to avail ourselves of rich and ripe under-$20 bargains from the region—well, we can live with it.

Domaine Piquemal has everything that is making Roussillon, which has long been world-renowned for its sweet wines, increasingly lauded for its DRY reds: It is located in the Agly valley, atop a dry, sunny plateau where the strong wind rustles the vines loud enough to drown out the cars passing on the autoroute. The domaine’s 125 acres boast a variety of soils: flakey schist, calcareous clay, and there are the galets roulés—rounded stones and pebbles—that typify the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This is about as close as French vines get to the Spanish border, where they enjoy the bright sunshine, without giving up that perfumy mix of smoky rosemary, thyme, juniper, lavender, and olive that is unique to the south of France.

Marie-Pierre had an unlikely rise to Hachette’s Winemaker of the Year. She dabbled in winemaking before joining her family’s winery in 2002, working alongside her brother Franck until his death in 2010. Now, Marie-Pierre calls the shots at Domaine Piquemal, where she the wines are treated with a light touch. The Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan that make up the 2017 Tradition are hand-sorted and vinified by parcel to provide maximum flexibility in the final assemblage.