A large wine-growing area stretching from Toulouse to the gates of Bordeaux, passing through the Basque Country and the edge of the Massif Central. A daring panorama of great originality that engages the curious in an extraordinary world of diversity. Not only does the collection of grape varieties found there form a veritable encyclopaedia, but the wines produced are astonishingly diverse. The vine has been present here since before the Romans, and having suffered for a long time from being relegated to second place behind its illustrious Bordeaux neighbour, the region now benefits from an undeniable capital of sympathy.
As for the grape varieties, we find the inseparable Dupont and Dupond of wine, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The first, of Bordeaux origin, has become the emblematic grape variety through the illustrious plantings of the Médoc's great growths and gives austere and tannic wines. The Merlot reveals itself more quickly, is naturally pleasant and can be enjoyed younger.
There are also varieties such as syrah, grenache, carignan, mourvèdre as well as autochthonous varieties such as tannat and manseng.

Tasting of 5 wines and 7 cheeses for 36 € / person.

Chardonnay is the best known white grape variety in the world and enjoys a sprawling aura. Capable of being modest, simple and thirst-quenching, it knows how to rise to the level of the greatest wines, rich and complex.
It can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Burgundy, but since then it has taken its pilgrim's staff to conquer the planet and in addition to Burgundy, Champagne and Languedoc, it can be found in Spain, Italy, California, Australia, New Zealand and Chile, to name but a few of the growing countries.
In addition to its reputation, it is easily influenced by the terroir or the winemaking methods. It can be mineral, woody or effervescent. It adapts to all types of climates, with a soft spot for cooler regions, and it prefers predominantly chalky soils.
In the following tasting, we propose an overview of the different possibilities that this playful grape variety can offer through regional French cuvées, but also through European examples.

Tasting of 5 wines and 7 cheeses for 41 € / person.

A thousand-year-old vineyard, the Ardèche has long remained the poor relation of the Rhône basin, better known for its Côtes Rôties, Cornas, Hermitages or Condrieu in its northern part, as well as its Châteauneuf-du-pape, Vacqueyras, Gigondas and other Lirac in its southern part.

Initially a bulk vineyard, the appellation has undergone a transformation over the last few decades to offer quality wines, mainly classified as PGI. The Ardèche vineyard thus plays fully with the notion of terroir.

The tasting proposed this evening is a journey through this unusual vineyard where different regional grape varieties will be associated with a selection of cheeses also from emblematic terroirs around the Auverge-Rhône-Alpes region.
Tasting of 5 wines and 7 cheeses for 41 € / person.

A royal grape variety, wildly successful all over the world and absolutely famous thanks to its Burgundian grands crus, Pinot Noir is precocious and eager to be made into wine. It may be found more in Champagne than in Burgundy, but that is where it was born and from where it has conquered a much wider territory thanks to the Cistercian monks and the construction of abbeys, sometimes far away.
A regular in cool regions and a natural transformer, it may be red, but it also makes white wines. Transparent and limpid, with a beautiful pale colour, it is as juicy as a cherry and bursts on the palate with vivacity, smoothness and delicacy. With little tannin, it is best drunk young and offers a seductive and fragrant palette, often with a floral touch. Red and black fruit in warmer climates, with age it takes on notes of undergrowth, leather and kirsch.

Tasting of 5 wines and 7 cheeses for 51 € / person.

The Jura is the smallest wine-producing region in France, wedged between Burgundy and Switzerland, and is a vineyard that one does not spontaneously think of when talking about wine. However, there is a lot to discover in these 100Km of hillsides with curved contours and fissured by the rows of vines.
The superstar of the region is evoked by a colour, yellow, and an assertive taste that must sometimes be tamed before succumbing. Apart from Chardonnay, the Jura has a number of grape varieties with a particular identity that cannot be found anywhere else: Savagnin for the whites, and for the reds, Poulsard, Pinot Noir and Trousseau.
Indissociable from the Jura, Comte, young or old, as well as the so-called oxidative wines, are aged in contact with the air in order to develop their structure and aromatic complexity.

Tasting of 5 wines and 7 cheeses for 56 € / person.