Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 57

Roussillon
R a n cio Sec
A Catalan Tradition
Special Report by TARA Q. THOMAS

he first time I tasted Rancio Sec, I was standing in the rain
in a parking lot in Maury, where a klatch of vintners were
putting on an alfresco tasting for the judges of Le Monde
du Grenache. We'd spent two days tasting every permutation of grenache possible, from juicy just-pressed versions to deep, dark, concentrated reds, as well as a range of sweet fortified Banyuls and Maury. Yet I hadn't encountered anything like the
wine that had just been poured into my glass: It was chestnut-brown,
and smelled of salted nuts and caramel; the flavors were dry, saline
and nutty, with translucent hints of red berries. It was almost like
Sherry, but with more fruit to round the edges, and less alcohol. And
it was one of the most delicious things I'd put in my mouth all year.
Flying home the next day, I was still thinking about it, and wondering where I could get another taste. With its saline, umami flavors and
transparency, Rancio Sec seemed like a shoo-in for a tasting menu, not
to mention aperitifs. But the only place in New York where I could find
it was on Arnaud Tronche and Pascaline Lepeltier's list at Racines. How
could something so delicious be so unknown?
I shot off an email to Alain Pottier of Domaine de la Tourasse, who'd
written Les Rancios Secs du Roussillon, and he sent me the book in
answer. A compilation of essays he gathered from Roussillon vintners,
chefs and sommeliers, the book lays out Rancio Sec's place in Catalan
history, and its near demise. Every family in Roussillon had its own
stocks-some of it for everyday use, and a special glass bonbonne or
barrel of long-aged Rancio Sec for festive occasions. Its structure and
saline flavors made it a favorite with the anchovies that built the port
town of Collioure; it was part of the batterie of every kitchen, used to
deglaze a pan of mushrooms or to create a sauce for a poulet. Alexandre Dumas, in his seminal Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine (1873), listed
it among the wines a host should have on offer; the wine appeared
on the tables of government officials, sharing space with the Château
Margaux and d'Yquem.
Its popularity began to wane after the INAO created the appellations of Banyuls and Maury in 1936. The regulations decreed that, in
order to earn the AOC, the wines must be fortified with the addition
of alcohol, in the style of Portugal's Port wines. Historically, however,
Rancio Secs come by their higher alcohol levels naturally. Made from
late-harvested grapes, they are simply left to spontaneously ferment
until dry-a process that can take months to years. To age the wines,
the vintner might move the wine into different-sized barrels or glass
demijohns, and put them outside, into "parking lots," or stick them in
a breezy section of the cellar where the fluctuating temperatures and
wind encourage oxidation and aging; some vintners use a solera system, replenishing what they draw from the older barrels with younger
wines. In some cases, the wines form a veil of yeast, as in Sherry.

But the new appellation rules left out Rancio, robbing it of the right
to establish a place name on the label. Just as Port came to overshadow
the Douro's tradition of dry wines, and fortified Sherries knocked out
the tradition of non-fortified versions, Roussillon's fortifieds obscured
Rancio Sec, so vintners began to phase it out of production.
It wasn't until 2004 that interest began to pick up again. That year,
Slow Food International declared Rancio Sec an endangered viticultural tradition, and gathered the last remaining producers to establish
the Roussillon Dry Rancio Wine Presidium. They showed their wines
at Slow Food salons, catching the interest of people like celebrated
Catalan sommelier Josep Roca. By 2012, producers had convinced the
French government to create two PGIs (Protected Geographical Recognition) for Rancio Sec: Côtes Catalanes and Côte Vermeille.
Though a few Rancio Secs have made it to the US in the last decades
through importers such as VOS Selections and Wineberry America,
the vast majority are currently brought in by Haus Alpenz, a small
company run by Eric Seed out of Minnesota. Seed, whose interest in
Rancio Sec began after a visit to Roussillon in 2012, has since launched
Sotolon Selections, a portfolio dedicated to oxidative wines.
It remains challenging to find a restaurant pouring Rancio Sec, but
this is changing as word gets out. "Most people that are interested in
oxidative wine are more than willing to add another vice to their list,"
says Kai Valade at Muse, a wine bar in Portland, Oregon. His partner
at the restaurant, Christopher Vazquez, agrees. "I have described it
as a fresher, more rounded Sherry; but this is not trying to be Sherry,
that is simply the jumping-off point," he says. "They can be salty,
cleanly earthy, a touch smoky, yet fleshy and oddly fruity, quite lively.
Honestly my strongest selling point is to let the guest determine for
herself."
Patrick McDonald does the same at Chaval in Portland, Maine, presenting it in pairings with everything from thinly-sliced Bellota ham
to their "bone marrow luge" and a dark-chocolate cake with jamón
serrano-inflected ice cream. "Rancio wines work amazingly well with
seafood, from Maine bluefin to Bangs Island mussels to boquerones,"
he adds.
If you can find a copy of Colman Andrews' classic Catalan Cuisine:
Europe's Last Culinary Secret (1997), it contains plenty of ideas for
using Rancio Sec. Explaining that it is a wine "capable, at its best, of
great complexity and finesse," Andrews offers a recipe for panellets,
marzipan cookies rolled in pine nuts or chopped hazelnuts, which he
claims are a traditional accompaniment; he also calls for Rancio Sec
in a recipe for duck braised with pears, and in a garlicky roast lamb.
But you can also just set out some roasted almonds, olives and firm
aged cheese; in general, Rancio Secs don't need any dressing up. They
are compelling all on their own.
WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2020

Wine & Spirits - February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - February 2020