Ground Control, near Gare de Lyon (Paris)
This is a time of the year you have plenty of exciting tasting in Paris, I was tipped about La Goulayance by Maryse and although I intended to go there, when the day came for real on november 28, it was so rainy, grey and cloudy (typical Paris weather at this time of the year you might say) that
I really was going reluctantly (j'y allais
à reculons like we say in French), taking the métro where at least the rain couldn't reach me for this Ground Control thing which I had visited recently also for a tasting (given the venue, this tasting couldn't be but worthwhile)...
Unsuspecting passerbys certainly couldn't imagine that day what was going on behind this bleak street access (picture on right), the place is as you know a former train workshop that belonged to the state rail company SNCF and the new managers obviously haven't been looking to make it glamorous, too much work I guess, plus there's a charm in converted industrial premises.
The tasting event was centered on the "vins sains sans artifices" which could be translated by "healthy wines made without tricks", it took place on two consecutive days november 217 & 28, access was unrestricted, fee was 10 € which included a glass and tasting of everything, chatting with all these winemakers, and you had to have your valid pass sanitaine scanned beforehand (that's the law), otherwise, when inside you weren't requided to keep your mask. Que la fête commence !
And if you want to see how valuable this tasting was indeed, just check the list of participating domaines/winemakers (on the left)...
The first stand I stopped at was Karim Vionnet's but for some reason he wasn't there, either he was elsewhere tasting his friends wines or he didn't come at all, and a guy from the next table was pouring his wines (the usage otherwise is to help yourself in this case). I had missed Nouveau in Paris this year and spotting Karim's nouveau made me stop there (he's making pretty nice Nouveau wines usually).
Easy drinking, he made less volume of course with the weather-related issues in 2021. 11 % alcohol, that's how I like them. 12 € tax included. Very enjoyable.Short maceration.
__KV Beaujolais Villages 2020. Nice substance ! 12 €, very enjoyable already (it's only a year old), more length. 13 %. longer maceration here, I'm told, plus, 2020 was quite solar, this translates
in the wines.
__ Vin de Kav (sounds like "vin de cave" of course), Chiroubles 2020. 16 €. He makes two Chiroubles, I'm told, this one
is the classic cuvée, not the old vines. 13 %. Mouais.... Looks like filtered, missing something here.
__ Noémie, Chénas vieilles vignes, Nouvelle Aventure 2019, the vines are farmed by Noémie, Karim's daughter, who joined the domaine in 2019, it's the 1st vintage of this cuvée, her first cuvée in short (the wine is made in the vineyard, just to remind). Appealing nose ! Same feel in thye mouth, delicious, light and subtle, great job, Noémie, I love it ! 20 € tax included, grab this if you see a bottle ! 30 hectoliters of this, on the market since almost a year.
__ Nous 2018, "les syrahs de Philippe Viret rencontrent les gamays de Karim Vionnet" (picture on left). As you understand this wine is the result of a cooperation between Philippe Viret (whose otherworldly wines made with biodynamie/cosmoculture are pretty amazing) and Karim Vionnet, respectively, their Syrah and Gamay, each vinified separately, the blending being done afterwards, after micro-blend tries. 50/50 volume. Smoky, exciting nose. Delicious mouth, neat, precise and sharp, with silky tannins. What a freshness also ! And nice length, super good. 17 € tax included. Don't miss that either !
Here is Emmanuel Moutot, who in addition to explain the wines of Karim Vionnet when he's not there, was pouring his own production : beer . His brewery, La Marmotte Masquée is operating from the depth of the Isère mountains (Rhône area in the direction of Grenoble), taking advantage
of the pristine mountain water there. They've been rebuilding themselves an old barn at an altitude of 900 meters (certainly in the snow right now). They sell the beers named from the number of the batch, each being different in style. For example the first one I tasted was Brassin [batch] #68. Their beers are using only organic ingredients starting from batch #023
Here is a page listing their beers (some batches are épuisé" or sold out)
__ Brassin # 68 Saison Blanche, a Bière Blanche, super aromatic, he says they've used yeast that are very hoppy. Very enjoyable beer, 7 € for a large bottle (75 cl if I remember). No export, in Paris you can find it at Le Ravitailleur (12th arrondissement), at Au Bon Vingt (Agnès, in the 20th, formerly Au Nouveau Nez), also at La Cave du Verre Volé (Oberkampf in the 11th).
__ Brassin # 69, Palé Alé (!), an ironic gallic twist on Pale Ale, a beer with a nice foam that lasts, in the mouth it's sharp, nicely done.
__ Brassin # 70 Kveik, here they used Norwegian yeast that ferment super quickly, the temperature rising to 35 C (95 F), an ale usually fermenting at 20 C or 68 F. Very interesting beer, subtle aromas in the mouth. 7 €.
Alex wasn't there (I saw him later) and this young woman named Fanny Bellenger, a trained sommelière now sharing the life of Alex, was pouring his wines. Alex an Fanny now work on a surface of 2,5 hectares, they have 3 cuvées total, no Nouveau/Primeur
(Alex doesn't make any even on a normal year).
__ Côte de Brouilly 2019, vines on schist, granite and sand, old vines, from 30 to 50. In 2021 they got 50% less volume than normal, but the juices were tasting great. This Brouilly is quite light in alcohol (still 13,5 %), which they appreciate after several years of solar vintages. Super nice wine, refined and intense. Can wait and better itself with a couple more years. 23 €. The vines are on a slope exposed north, so even on hot years the wines keep a good freshness.
__ Brouilly 2019, vines aged 70, grow on shallow soil with granite rock bed immediately underneath, making meager, small-sized grapes. Excellent wine !! Highly recommend.
__ Brouilly 2018, same vines, the wines is more mature with patina, quite superb indeed ! And all the while thinking that this wine is in its infancy.
Jérôme Balmet produces is wines since 2012 in the Beaujolais after working with Jean-Claude Lapalu, he's using no
sulfites and vinfies naturally. His vineyard surface grew to the present 4,5 hectares. He presented a single cuvée here to sale, 2021 has been tough in term of losses (70 %) with the weather issues (frost and much hail as well). He usually makes 3 or 4 cuvée a year, he's based in Vaux-en-Beaujolais.
__ Barbe Rousse, vin de France 2020, bottled june 2021. Gamay vines on sandy soil, exposed north. Semi-carbonique maceration for 15 days, then élevage on lees, light débourbage, no filtration, no so2 (reads "sans sulfites ajoutés, non filtré" on the label) . Exciting nose, mouth with light astringency. Jérôme says he was happy because no mousy issue inspite of having eschewed any use of sulfites. Price : 9 € pro price, or 15 € tax included at the cellar.
That's when I met a few of the organizers of this tasting, here Jean-Jacques Braghini who also organized for a long time (until 2015 if I'm right) the tasting event Buvons Nature at Espace Beaujon (scroll down a few pictures in this story, you'll see the nice winemakers who took part typically). And on the right this is Jean-Hugues Bretin, the man who founded in 2016 the app Raisin which deals with natural wines.
In fact when I spotted this small group who happened to be the people behind this tasting, the one I recognized was François, he didn't change much since I visited him for this story. François is
also a founder of Vins S.A.I.N.S. which is
group of growers/winemakers dedicated to making wines without absolutely any additives, including any sulfites at all, ever (which is not that common, even if a growing number of vintners begin to follow their path).
__ François had me tasting his blanc de macération, the cuvée A Table 2020, a Sauvignon that went through a one-month-long maceration.what a beauty with such a length, and these enjoyable tannins typical of what white skin contact can offer. Ripe aromas as well. No additives, no added sulfites (and obviously unfiltered).
__ La Presse vin de France 2020, a red blend (Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon), the Cab Sauvignon being 50-year-old vines pruned very short, this way when picked at the right time, it's ripe (not easy to get ripe CS in the Loire). Nice chew, very fruit forward. Bottled very recently. 12,8 € pro price.
I'm going to turn this site into a tabloid listing celebrities, here are a few more people of interest, there's of course François Blanchard with Gérald Oustric and also multi-talented Stefff Gotkovski of La Cave de Mère Grand in Montreuil who is also co-organizer of this event, he worked in TV was also a musician with the Garçons Bouchers (and Gerald told me he was among the first to buy his wines, as he had then a house near there in Ardèche, plus he co-organized a wine event with Jean-Pierre Robinot). On the right, Kamel Tabti, ex Le Grand 8 in Montmartre which was a rare natural-wine spot in this part of Paris.
Elisabeth Villeneuve is the woman behind La Robe Pourpre, a small domaine located near Uzès in the Gard. Elisabeth was initially managing a bistrot /wine bar in Rennes, Nabuchodonosor which was started in 1984, a long story (25 years), in these early years she would come to Paris regularly and hang around the few nice bars of the time (there were VERY few...), like the bistrot Melac, La Tartine (near Paris City Hall) and L'Ange Vin (managed by no other than
Jean-Pierre Robinot), and she later was really introduced to the nascing natural wines after L'Arsouille opened
in Rennes. She sols her bar in 2009 and came to the south of France (in the Hérault département) to do the harvest, and she stayed there... Now she just moved a bit, to the Gard département nearby where she find a small vineyard to tend.
__ Envol 2019, red blend of Grenache and Carignan (purchased grapes), made through a 15-day carbonic maceration, without temperature control. Silky nose. Freshness feel, nice tannic chew on the sides of the mouth. 14 €.
__ La Robe Pourpre, Cabernet Sauvignon 2020. Traditionnal maceration for 10 days. This is a late-blossoming variety, the good side she's not having frost issues with it, and she can usually do without the early mildew sprayings, but this year was very different, with a very agressive strain of mildew, she ended up getting only 20 % of the volume. She prunes the vines at the end of march. Tannic mouth but you feel that this wine will move on to something smoother after another couple of years. 14 €.
__ La Robe Pourpre 2019, same vines, carafed wine. Longer maceration here, thus an astringency at the end, that's why she carafed the bottle. Chalky tannins, I feared they'd be harsher. Alcohol is on the front seat here but I guess if you eat the relevant dish with, it'll be fine. 13,5 %.
__ Cuvée no name 2021 (vat sample). Grenache & 20 % Syrah, whole-clustered, foot stomped. Tickling feel on the tongue. Everything is vinified with indigenous yeast, is unfiltered, bottled by gravity with a 4-spout filler, and saw no sulfites even at bottling [if you read "contient des sulfites" here, it's just because you're required to print that in France unless you paid for a costly lab analysis]. Neutral élevage, in fiber tanks.
I was happy to taste a few wines from Chateau Sainte Anne (Bandol), which I had visited years ago. Raphaël Etienne, who at the time of the visit was my guide and remembered me, told me that he likes looking at my 2011 story from time to time because that's the only place where he can still look to the lovely cypress trees which the local authorities cut down in yet another vain
and invasive effort to "modernize" and "improve" the road surroundings. I am so sorry myself to hear that, that's a subject which I think is very important :
local authorities, from the small-village mayors to the regional apparatchiks have been destroying the beauty of the French countryside and villages in an effort to make them like suburbs (and be sure they're proud of the result !), you see for example zebra crossings and marked parking spots popping up along the streets, as well as all kind of ridiculous urban furniture, same for standardized sidewalks and gutters. And in city halls the usual narrative is (I witnessed that in the Loire) "it'll cost us nothing, the money comes from the communauté de commune [another layer of local administration], the département [yet another layer of local bureaucracy], the region [the fat cats at the head of the regions are certainly the modern equivalent of local kinglets centuries ago]" The people in the villages just forget that one way or another, they're paying for these destructions and horrors, and I think the only solution should be to downsize dramatically the local/property tax money they're sitting on, they would be obliged to make choices.
__ Cotes de Provence 2019
__ Bandol 2018. Suppple tannins, this is because of the vintage, they had mildew that year, with humid air coming from the Mediterranean and staying put, which exploded the disease because they didn't spray.
__Bandol 2013. Man, that's super good !! Eucalyptus notes, plus other similar aromas. 29 €, definetely a must buy, and not that expensive.
__ Bandol 2016, mokka aromas, super nice wine with chalky tannin, lovely !!!
__ La Cuvée à JB, vin de France (didn't note the year but certainly 2020). Made from young vines, thus can't be a Bandol (also got a shorter élevage). Super nice ! Easy on the tannins, and at 12 € it is a super deal, you actually get virtually a Bandol from Chateau Sainte Anne hidden behind a Vin-de-France label... (I didn't taste the other JB cuvées, white & rosé but now realize I should have for the same reasons).
No need to present Gérald Oustric of Le Mazel in Ardèche (Rhône), he was the precursor there of a now-growing group of growers/winemakers working naturally, helping beginners in many ways for everything, tools, parcels, advice (I've heard about this multiple times from different people who settled there), and remaining to this day very humble and
friendly, with a list of beautiful wines which we can afford.
__ Vin de Soif 2018
(vin de France), blend of Grenache & Carignan, 11 € retail in this tasting (and at the domaine I guess). Sharp mouth, with fruit.
__ Cuvée Briand 2018, Grenache. A bit astringent, fresh.
__ Larmande 2011, Syrah. 19 €. Super enjoyable wine, with a nice attack on the palate. Speaking of 2021, Gerald says that they got frost, hail and mildew, resulting with an overall loss of 50 %.
__ Cuvée Charbonnières 2018, a white made with Chardonnay, residual sugar. Very manageable in terms of sugar feel., 4-5 grams only.
The domaine Les Bois Perdus is managed by Alexis Robin and Lena Perdu, the name of the domaine being possibly a play with "Robin des Bois" and "perdu dans les bois". Both from I understand were working
in the movie business in the Paris region and they decided to change course and become vignerons in Ardèche, this is their 2nd vintage.They started 3 years ago with planting vines and while waiting that the parcels become productive, they buy grapes to Le Mazel [another example of Gerald support to newcomers], to the Ozil brothers, to Jean-Benoit Plagnoland to Thierry (possibly Thierry Doulmet).
__ Sonatine, Vin de France 2020, Gamay. Vines aged 15-20 years. 1500 bottles. 12,1 % alc. Super nice one, exciting mouth, feels whole with tension, I recommend, 12 € tax included, a great deal ! Zero so2, unfiltered. He exports to Japan, Korea, , Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark. In Paris, can be found at La Cave de Belleville, La Petite Epicerie de Montreuil (good opportunity to go look there).
__ Aphrodite, vin de France 2020, Grenache. Elevage in barrels. 15 €. Mouth with astringency but well wrapped with the fruit character. Super good in a couple of years I'm sure.
__ Malotru, Vin de France 2020, blend of Carignan (60 %), Grenache (20 %) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20 %), semi-carbo vinification, élevage in stainless steel, bottled july 2021.
Patrick Rols of Domaine Rols started to make wine in 2005, he is located in Aveyron where he has replanted terraces the old way near Conques. This wine region (where Nicolas Carmarans has also been doing a great job at
resuscitating traditionnal viticulture) has seen its vineyard surface dwindle since the 19th century but people like Patrick are turning the tide. Their work is appreciated by the locals who bemoan the loss of this vinous heritage in just a century. Patrick manages a 6-hectare surface, replanted from 2003 to 2005, farmed along biodynamie and vinifications are all natural.
__ La Coccinelle, Chenin 2019. Nice structured white. 9 € pro price. He makes very small volumes.
__ Si Rare 2020, IGP Vin de L'Aveyron, Syrah. Super nice, fluid and easy going and 11 % only. From what I understand the continental climate here allows late picking.
__ La Coquille, IGP Vin d'Aveyron 2020 [they're courageous to stand these awful IGP appellations, I'd rather label that in Vin de france....], Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, a semi-carbo, à la Beaujolaise. (Plus, regarding the IGP appellation, Patrick says the guys who deliver the IGP are tiresome...). Aromas of black fruits, coffee style notes, inky notes also. Unfiltered, zero so2, bottled in spring.11 €, super deal ! Paris : Les Caves du Panthéon, Le Verre Volé, Au Petit Panisse. He exports to Canada, Japan.
__ Les Anciens 2020, same varieties as the one before, élevage in foudre. Man, that's good !
François Ecot makes wine in the lesser-known north-western wing of Burgundy, near Avallon, his cuvées are diverse and always vibrant and exciting.
You may remember the story of Thomas Puechavy who quit a career of musician always on the road throughout Europe and fell in love with the life of vigneron, a life which he had learnt to know while going to play in the French regions. He settled in the Vouvray region in the Loire, with a
vineyard surface of 3,5 hectares.
__ Le Rayon Blanc 2019, a Chenin made from 25-year-old vines, this is the 1st vintage of this cuvée. The wine was in barrels when I visited. The grapes were pressed and after a short débourbage, the juice was put into a vat for 6 months, then barrels. Balance, nice structure of white. 20 €.
__ Les Doyennes 2019, old vines (70-80), surface of 1,3 hectare with missing vines. More richness and power here, that's a serious Chenin! 24 €. Unfiltered, 1 gram so2 before bottling. Nice complexity, nice Chenin. Bottled february 2021, with crown cap closure.
__ Les Turbulents, pet'nat 2019 (I shot a picture of him opening/disgorging a bottle). 2000 bottles total of this cuvée, he disgorges over time along the orders (this bottle was disgorged 2 weeks before), he didn't make any in 2020 but will for the 2021 vintage. Enjoyable bubly, with a bit of sugar left.
Le Haut-Planty is a family domaine located in the Muscadet. Alain Couillaud and his brother Christian took over the estate in 1979 from their father Michel who had converted the multi-crop farm to a full-fledge viticulture one. The farming ids organic
(and now biodynamic) and the vinification is fully natural, including the no-use of sulfites. I’m not sure this was the normal price but Alain Couillaud was selling all the cuvées at 10 € that day, apart from one. The guy is a character, we had a lot of fun tasting with him.
__ Gravelle automne hiver 2021 (this is the primeur of the domaine), the most "glou-glou" Melon de Bourgogne, he says. Obviously unfiltered from the turbidity. Woaouh, that’s nice, wrapps the mouth beautifully, sappy, so easy indeed !
__ Les Yonnières, Muscadet 2019. Here you almost feel the oysters waiting on a plate, very appealing white, I mea nit ! Try that as well, especially at this range of price.
__ Gwin Evan, "au gré du vin", their first "Muscadet nature", without so2, that’s why labelled not in Muscadet nut Vin de France. I feel a bit of residual sugar maybe, but the mouth is neat and sharp.
__ One Musk a Night , Vin de France 2020, Melon de Bourgogne (all is Melon here). Turbid. Very nice wine, whole anda live, don’t miss that either !! I’m sure biodynamy has to do with all this. 10 € also.
__ One Way Ticket seat 18A Vin de France 2019, an oxidative Melon de Bourgognen no added sulfites. Velvety feel, the oxidative edge is light, this is super onctuous ! Not to miss either.
François Ecot makes wine in the lesser-known north-western wing of Burgundy, in Mailly-le-Chateau near Avallon, his cuvées are diverse and always vibrant and exciting, in a word delicious, thanks to his magic hand I guess and
certainly as well good work
in the vineyard. He vinifies both from his 2-hectare surface and from purchased grapes in the area. He had a single cuvée to pour that day.
__ Gamay Dire Gamay 2020 (all on Vin de France chez François Ecot), a blend of Gamay, Chasselas, plus Chardonnay and Aligoté, élevage in foudres and vinified in cement tank. He says that considering the lack of grapes in 2021, he bought grapes in Spain, bringing them back here in a semi truck in 400-kg gondolas. This wine which was bottled 6 days before has a lovely white-wine feel in the mouth, he made 30 hectoliter of that (bottled at once), part is exported to Taiwan via Oeno Connexion (managed by Yoshio Ito). Super nice red, with this white touch !!! 13 %.
You may remember Michel Favard of Château Meylet who was a
pioneer in organic/natural
winemaking in Bordeaux (organic since 1980 and biodynamic since 1987), David Favard, his son, is now in command since 2012, he’s the 5th generation as the parcels can be trace back to an ancestor from Auvergne who settled in the Saint-Emilion region at the end of the 19th century. The vineyard surface remains very small : 1,5 hectare.
__ Cuvée Carbone, Vin de France 2019, made with parcel en fermage (rented). Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, vinified together whole clustered. Carbo for 15 days. Elevage in sandstone jars. Nose : small red fruits. Super neat and precise in the mouth, with chalky tannins. Lovely wine. 25 €.
__ Château Meylet 2016, David’s 2nd vintage. Still a bit tight, needs to open itself.
Marie Carroget Is the daughter of Agnès and Jacques Carroget who started their wine farm Domaine La Paonnerie decades ago after learning the trade in many other regions including Hungary (Tokaj) where Jacques settled for three years, his winemaking style owing much from what he learned there. La paonnerie began being fully organic
in 1997, biodynamic since 2009, Marie taking the wheel of the domaine this year (2021). The domaine is a bright light in the Coteaux d’Ancenis near Nantes in western Loire. The vineyard surface was something like 24 hectares if I'm right, but they reduced the surface to around 12 hectares
__ Rien Que Melon 2020, a dry Melon de Bourgogne. Turbid. Refreshing, easy, what more can you want ! And 10 € only, great deal. Zero so2. Marie says it fermented in 5 days. 11 %.
__ Les Grées 2020, 7-day-long maceration of destemmed Melon de Bourgogne. Flowery aromas (white flowers), pretty nice. 13 €.
__Vegyes 2020 (means blend in Hungarian), this is a parcellaires blend of Chenin. Direct press.Mouth : silky tannins, balanced, discreetly alive and present, I love that ! Marie says that she had been helping her father do the vinifications until 2020, after which she took over the domaine. Zero so2 here like the rest. 16 €.
__ Simplement Gamay 2020. For the information, 40 % of the wine is red in the domaine. Precision feel in the mouth, delicate tannins.14 €. That’s a serious wine ! Go for it ! And ready to drink. The wines can be found in Paris at the Cave de belleville, the Cave des Papilles, at Lamité Rit (Montreuil).
__ Le Rougge de laJacquerie 2018, Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc. Wouaou, that’s nice ! Keep that 2 years and open it, will be even better ! 15 €.
Bertjan Mol and his wife Nicole Messer are running Domaine de la Taupe in the Cher valley, Loire. Bertjan had been
managing an import company in Holland, dealing exclusively with natural wine and one day he and his wife made the step to become vignerons themselves, moving with their children to this friendly Cher valley.
Bertjan says that in 2021 they lost about 15 % of the grapes with the weather/disease issues.
__ Surin, Sauvignon Blanc 2019, bottled in march. Crown cap. Direct press, élevage 1 year in barrels. Hawthorn flower aroma on the nose, the mouth is bright, vivid, this awakes you ! 17 € tax included.
__ Carnix 2020, 30 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 70 % Cabernet Franc, no added so2. 12,8 %. Vinified in
>fiber vat and élevage in barrels for 5 months. Bottled end of august. Appealing nose, same for the mouth, I recommend this ! 17 €.
__ Bruno, Bert & Co, Côt 2020, bottled in may. Grapes destemmed by hand. 5-day maceration. So nice, keep that one in your files if you have the opportunity to get some !
Antonin Iommi-Amunategui (No Wine is Innocent) is a militant journalist, he writes books about real wine and also manages inmportant tasting events, like the Rue89 tasting as well as Mi-Livre Mi-Raisin, where both writers and winemakers take part, meaning that you get liquid food as well as soul/brain food, a very good concept indeed. I missed this latter tasting alas, the 2nd edition was december 11-12. Here he’s showing his last book, Glou Guide where 120 natural wines are profiled, there are several Glou Guides (4 if I’m right) and the idea here is to list wines that are affordable and glou-glou, easy drinking, in one of the books the authors categorized the wines in several groups, including one named H or hardcore (or brutal), natural-wine lovers understand what that means, we all salivate already….
The Domaine Achillée is located in Scherwiller, Alsace, this is a family estate with 20 hectares of vineyards plus 6 hectares of orchards, all farmed organic since 20 years and biodynamic since 2001. Initially, Pierre & Jean’s father Yves was selling the family grapes to the coopérative when in 2016 they decided to make wine themselves.
__ Crémant d’Alsace 2018, majority Riesling, no dosage, unfiltered. Very neat.
__ Pet’ nat 2018 (pic on left), Sylvaner here, which wouldn’t be authorized under the AOC Crémant d’Alsace. Wouaou ! that’s nice ! Length and pleasure guaranteed all the way down your system… Thin, discreet bubbles.
__ Pépin Blanc,
a négoce wine (purchased grapes), blend of Riesling, Sylvaner, Auxerrois, and again, no additives, no filtration. Energy feel on the tongue, powerful also.
__ Riesling Schieferberg 2018, quite vibrant wine too, with restraint.
__ Hahnenberg 2018, feel of the terroir here. Some residual sugar (18 grams). Deeper soils here.
__ Gewürztraminer 2019, nice acidity feel on the nose, super aromatic mouth, super nice ! I recommend.
__ Gewürztraminer 2018, different nose but as exciting if with another range of aromas, something like mushrooms. Super nice, samely with the mouth, love it !€.
__ Vin Orange, smoky notes, good length and pretty reasonably smooth for a skin contact.
__ Pépin Rouge, Pinot Noir. Waou ! Another super Pinot Noir from Alsace (purchased grapes), chalky tannins and freshness, really from an other world ! Sells for 14 € I’m told, indeed a super deal for a delicious Pinot from Alsace.
__ Pinot Noir Granite 2018, old vines (70-75) from the domaine (small surface), 3-week maceration with whole-clustered grapes élevage 2 years in old barrels. Impressive mouth, that’s another level yet !38 €
__ Pinot Noir Granite 2017, in magnum, they will sell this from Easter 2022. I love Alsace magnums, tall and thin bottles… Mmmm, very nice, clear color, balance, substance with length. 99 € if my notes are right, will better if you wait before opening, but already very enjoyable at this stage.
This table was the one of L’Atelier Vinique which is managed by Nika Endeladze and represents a few winemakers from Georgia (here Nika and
(if I’m right his girlfriend) pose with Alex Foillard who was tasting a few wines….
__ La Baladeuse 2018, a white made with Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane, 3-week maceration. Turbid wine. Light tannin touch for a skin contact. 19 €.
__ La Baladeuse 2019, more colored but lighter color. Interesting aromas here, like dey leaves, fallen leaves in autumn…
__ Lases Marani (a neighbor), Rkatsiteli. It’s always so strange, the Georgian wines, really another world…
__ Laora, Méthode Champenoise by a French guy who works with Georgian varieties, the domaine Ori Marani, here the wine is made with the variety Varskotte
__ Saperavi 2020, a semi carbo, 29 €. Smooth wine with thin tannins, made in underground amphora. From what I understand they had a tasting at Le Baratin with plenty of Georgian wines.
This is always a pleasure to stop at the stand of Christian Binner, beautiful, living wines and friendly guy, here I made a
1st pass
in front of his table but had to skip because too crowded. Later I had more chance, still crowded but could elbow my way to the table with my glass and camera… This was the end of the tasting for me and so I limited my to a couple of wines (Christian had brought plenty of cuvées). That’s the thing when you don’t spit most of the time, but who can spit these wines ?...
__ Pinot Noir, Cuvée Excellence 2015. What a nose ! This wine is just bright and neat, beautiful.
__ Katz’ en Bulles 2019, pet’nat. This awakes you ! There’s a ripeness feel here, very sympa ! 13,5 %.
Mathieu Coste and his girlfriend Alexandra had a problem, there was this tasting at Ground Control and the same day they were supposed to be also in Montreuil at Lamitié Rit
for another exciting tasting, so Alexandra came here near the Gare de Lyon station while Mathieu took care of the Montreuil tasting…. It’s sooo good that tastings are back… They have 3 red cuvées and one white. Mathieu Coste is one of the vignerons who helped put back the Coteaux du Giennois on the map, which is not easy because of the prominent neighbor Sancerre.
__ Biau, Vin de France (all the wines are VdF) 2013. 80 % Gamay, 20 % Pinot Noir, 8-year élevage, stainless steel and cement, bottled october 2021. There has been a bit of so2 at the encuvage but it has since vanished. 16 €.
__ Les Têtes de Chats 2017, Pinot Noir 80 %, Gamay 20 %, unfiltered. Maceration in tronconic fermenter and élevage in stainless steel. Not bad ! 15 € I learn from Alexandra that she met Mathieu after having read my story about him… I love to be part of this !
My last table was a festive apotheosis with Sébastien Gandubert of Closerie de Belle Poule who
was at the
best of his form after a long day pouring to visitors. The domaine, managed by Sébastien Gandbert (center, here pictured with Elsa & Jérôme) is located in Anjou (Loire) and the vineyard surface is 10 hectares. If I read my notes correctly in 2001 the surface was 3 hectares and now heading to 12 hectares.
__ Les Poussins, 50 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 50 % Cabernet Franc, unfiltered, no so2. Indeed, lightly perly, but super nice wine, love it. 8 € pro price.
__ Le Coq, 2-month maceration Cabernet Sauvignon. More tannic
__ Pet’nat rosé, Salade de Fruits vin de France 2019, made with a direct press of Cabernet Sauvignon, crown cap, nice palate touch, balanced, chalky style ! 10 € tax included, great deal !
__ 33cl bottle of sweet Chenin 2018, great stuff, intense feel. 3-year veil wine bottled 2 days before this tasting, no sulfites, nothing I guess. Superb aromas of old, sof caramel, so smooth and long ! 73 € for a 75cl bottle. Highly recommended if not too expensive for you.
Taking a stroll through the wine tasting rooms is always delightful. Wish I have been there.
Posted by: Indian Vineyards | February 18, 2022 at 07:46 AM