This wine is a collaboration between Eric Solomon Selections, one of those importers that gets our attention when we “spin the bottle,” and Jean-Marc and Eliane Lafage, whose family has been making wines in the Roussillon for more than 230 years. Jean-Marc and Eliane are both trained winemakers who worked all over the world before returning to Jean-Marc’s ancestral vineyards. The Roussillon region is sometimes called Northern Catalonia, as the region remains culturally and linguistically Catalan despite being ceded to France in 1659 at the end of the War of Spanish Succession. Côtes du Roussillon wine lacks a bit of identity as the geology and microclimates are so varied that the resulting wines lack a common theme. That doesn’t mean that individual wines from the Côtes du Roussillon can’t be great, and when they are (that’s where we come in) the consumer (that’s you) benefits from this branding issue. Bastide Miraflores translates to Flower View Country House, and this blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache does see a lot of flowers planted between the rows as well as other examples of biodiversity from these organically farmed vineyards. The Grenache is grown on the schist and granite soils of Saint-Paul de Fenouillet, a terroir that always ripens late in the year, and the Syrah from gravelly soils near the Mediterranean. After a long maceration of six weeks, the wine ages for 12 months in roughly 3/4 concrete vats and 1/4 600L French oak demi-muids. The Syrah and Grenache blend seamlessly: blackberry, cherry, plum fruit with fresh flowers and garrigue. The medium body of this wine makes it very versatile for food pairing. Grilled pork and beef would be great, as would smoky herbed chicken.