Moroccan Red Chicken and Lafage Bastide Miraflors

January, is a time for resolutions, snuggling up with a good book, intimate dinners with good friends. January is a time for hearty simple food and banging country wine. Vin de Pays in French, wines that are step better than vin ordinaire but still from somewhere, taste of a place, have terroir. VDP or IGP or as the go by now - Indication Géographique Protégée, or Protected Geographical Region - designation, are wines that were once seen as inferior to the AOC wines, but in the last 20 years many winemakers are purposely making wines outside the AOC (AOP) with spectacular results.

 Cotes Catalanes is one of the most important IGPs in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, covering the Pyrenees-Orientales department on the border with Spain. One of the oldest viticultural areas of France, vines in the Roussillon were first cultivated by the Phoenicians and later by the Romans. With some of the most dramatic topography in France, with garrigue-covered steep hills and a hot, dry climate and poor, dry soils - resembling the Priorat in Spain in many ways.

 Here young winemakers like Jean-Marc Lafage are making new wines with very old grapes. Jean-Marc Lafage is one of our favorite winemakers (Period). And if you shop at Esquin, most likely he is one of yours too. He makes some our favorite wine in Spain, France and even South America - Evodia, Tessellae Vieilles Vignes, Novellum Chardonnay ,Las Rochas Garnacha to name a few. However, his best work is perhaps at home at his estate in the hills of the Roussillon with his wife, Eliane. Although only in his thirties, Jean-Marc Lafage already has almost 20 years of world-class wine making behind him.

2012 Domaine Lafage Bastide Miraflors Vieilles Vignes $13.99   The Miraflors is a blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache that spent one year in 80% concrete tank (Grenache) and 500-liter demi-muids (Syrah). From a Roussillon vineyard dominated by gallets roules that resembles many Chateauneuf du Pape vineyards, the wine undergoes a long maceration of six weeks. Yields are amazingly low for wines at this price level. The wines are bottled unfiltered. "Notes of violets, forest floor, black cherry jam and blackberries make an appearance in this medium-bodied, high-toned, dense, rich, complex, well-delineated red wine. Drink it over the next several years." -91 points Robert Parker Wine Advocate One would normally think such a superb, remarkable wine would cost over $50 a bottle, but this beauty is available for an astonishing $14 a bottle. You'll have to taste it to believe it!

Moroccan Red Chicken and Couscous Now back to that stew. In the eighth century the Roussillon was over-run by Moors and became Moorish Septimania an outpost of al-Andalus. If you travel there you can see the Arab influence in architecture and even place names for example names such as Castelmaur (Castle of the Moors) and Castelsarrasin (Castle of the Saracens) and the medical school at Montpellier. In Roussillon, you are just likely to find Couscous as you are baguette.   One of my favorite dishes is Morrocan Red Chicken and a perfect winter warmer that is as easy to make as it is soul satisfying. The blend of pepper and spice makes for a rich enticing dish that is not too piquant but will still spice up your evening meal.  Moroccan Red Chicken 6       oz               Butter 4       Lb               Chicken, Thigh and leg meat, boneless skinless 4       each            Onions, Large dice 2       each            eggplant 1       tbl               Salt 3       each            Sweet Red Pepper 4       ounces       Sherry 1       32oz           Tomatoes, canned ********* SPICE MARINADE: 1       tsp              black Pepper 1       tsp              Chile Flakes 1       Tbl             Hungarian Paprika 1       Tbl             Pimento de la Vera 2       Tbl             Chile Powder 1       tsp              Cumin 1       tsp              Cinnamon ********* TO FINISH ¼      Cup            Cilantro, Chopped fresh 1.5    oz               Sherry Vinegar 1.5    oz               Honey 1.    Separate chicken into pieces add spices 2.    Cut eggplant into 1” cubes and purge with salt 3.    In large pot melt butter add onions and peppers 4.    Add chicken brown stirring occasionally 5.    Deglaze with sherry 6.    Add eggplant and tomatoes bring to boil 7.    Place pot into 375 degree oven for 30 – 40 minutes 8.    Finish with mixture of honey and vinegar together 9.    Garnish with cilantro Serve with couscous and preserved lemon Printable Recipe