La cave a millésimes, image via pilipili.com
Near the mairie in the fifteenth arrondissement, a friend of a friend named Philippe holds a monthly tasting in his chic little wine shop, La Cave à Millésimes, or The Vintage Cellar in English. The last one held in May was “un petit tour de France”… (Attention, la degustation se déroule en français!)
Tables are set up between the walls of bottles, decorated with glass bowls of cherry-size green, yellow and orange tomatoes and rosemary crackers. Our first wine is a Sauvignon Blanc from L’Orléanais et Le Clos St Fiacre which I love for its balance of citrus and berry flavors. Le Clos des Augustins et la Cuvée Les Bambins en blanc Chardonnay, Roussane and Vermentino which we drink next is a little on the sweet side, and we eat rillettes de porc on slices of baguette with it.
Philippe Busquet, caviste. Image via lefigaro.fr
Moving on to the reds, Philippe pours everyone Santenay Premier Cru Clos Faubard 2009 de Claude Muzard, a full-bodied yet easy to drink Bourgogne Pinot Noir. Plates of charcuterie are brought out and quickly emptied by eager hands. Chassagne Montrachet rouge 2010 de la maison Ramonet, also a Bourgogne with a more smokey taste comes next. We sip on this while munching on fresh strawberries, sweet melon and pungent runny cheeses.
For the last wine, we savor a sunny southern vintage, Cashmere du Domaine de la Nouvelle Donne 2008 sur l’appellation Côtes du Roussillon. It’s a silky berry blend of Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre grapes, which goes very well with the berry-filled chocolates so perfectly selected for dessert.
Rich, full-bodied organic wine from Leucate
My friends recommend a 2009 bottle of organic red, Retour aux Sources from Leucate in the Corbières region in the South of France whose winery they had visited. It comes home with me. This wine is rich, fruity and full-bodied. For under twenty euros, I would definitely purchase this vivacious selection again.
Bravo et merci, Philippe! C’était un delicieux apéro-dinatoire (it was a delectable drinks and buffet dinner).
La cave à millésimes
180 rue Lecourbe
75015 PARIS
Tél. 01 48 28 22 62
Monthly tasting : 25 euros per person
http://www.cave-millesimes.com/
Figaro review (in French) :
© 2012 Pasa’s Paris