Good Addresses - September 2024

RESTAURANTS 

FOGO, Paris 17th arrondissement - 8 Rue Meissonier

Discover this superb restaurant in Paris’s 17th arrondissement—a treat for lovers of flame-cooked meat and fish! 

Chic, bohemian atmosphere with a Brazilian touch and an open kitchen. 

Flame-cooked meat and fish are the focus: the menu is short but very tempting. There are several dishes to share to start, followed by lovely options from land and sea. The desserts are tempting too… 

In the end, we chose a grilled sausage to share, along with some little Comté bites. A good start. 

Next came two beef picanhas with small grilled vegetables. 

All accompanied by a rather nice Yves Cuilleron cuvée that’s already drinking well: Petite Serine 2022, made from old grape varieties. It’s already fairly open and nicely fruity. 

The wine list is quite good, but it isn’t cheap…

We couldn’t resist after seeing the desserts at the next table. 

So we decided to try the Saint-Honoré, which was simply delicious and light! 

The Glue Pot Reims - 49 Place Drout d’Erlon

Discover this fantastic restaurant in the heart of Reims! It wasn’t our first visit… So it was perfect to return on the Friday evening of our team seminar, after visiting Louis Roederer! 

With the feel of an Irish Guinness bar, red booths and high-energy DJ sets, this restaurant is well known among wine lovers for its superb wine list! 

Stéphane, the manager, will give you a royal welcome and tell you about all the wines that aren’t on the regular wine list. 

A wide selection of Champagne—and plenty more besides! 

Don’t hesitate to ask him to serve the wines blind: decanters and tasting sleeves keep coming, giving us a chance—or not—to identify grape varieties, regions, even estates and vintages. We tasted everything blind, with Stéphane following our founders’ specific—or not-so-specific—requests when choosing what to pour. 

We started with two lovely Champagnes: Aurélien Lurquin and Emmanuel Brochet. Two big names in grower Champagne, and quite hard to get hold of! 

Lurquin is very good, if a little austere; Brochet is delicious! 

Next came Jean-François Ganevat’s Les Chalasses Vieilles Vignes, alongside more small plates to share as appetizers. Some of us recognized the Jura Chardonnay, but not everyone… As delicious, beautifully made and precise as ever, the style of the pope of the Jura is inimitable. We love it. 

Then came our main courses (no vegetarians on the team, so it was meat for everyone, with a special mention for the côte de bœuf and the Big Boy burger), accompanied by a succession of red wines. 

Let’s start with Clos Nouveau, Domaine du Bel Air, Bourgueil 2018: Cabernet Franc featured prominently among our guesses, though we weren’t 100% sure. The wine is already drinking very well despite its youth. A superb Loire wine, with a complex nose of fruit and toasted notes, and a precise, deep palate—a distinguished Cabernet Franc! 

Next came another red wine. The nose was superb, dominated by violet and garrigue. Ripe and spicy, with body and power, well-integrated oak, ripe fruit and pepper notes, yet still a little freshness… Our thoughts naturally turned south: a Syrah? An Italian wine? It was hard to tell. No one guessed it was from Corsica: Clos Venturi Chiesa Nera 2020! This is Corsica’s highest-altitude estate, which may give the wine some of its freshness. It’s a blend of biodynamically grown native varieties (Aleatico, Niellucio, Sciaccarello, Minustellu, Morescola, Carcaghjolu Neru, Moresconu and Vermentino). Excellent, and perfect with the meat! 

More outstanding bottles followed as our meal continued, all tasted blind. 

Next came Gramenon’s La Mémé 2021 from the Rhône, aptly named because it’s made from century-old vines. Powerful black-fruit aromas, a lovely touch of reduction… It’s excellent: 100% biodynamically grown Grenache, whole-cluster maceration in an unlined concrete tank, fermentation with indigenous yeasts, then 12 months of barrel aging… Very enjoyable after a little air! 

Then, back to the whites!

Thierry Germain was next: Domaine des Roches Neuves Clos Roman 2020. A lovely Saumur: white fruit, an exotic touch, citrus, and floral aromas of acacia and hawthorn; just the kind of Chenin we love! 

Michel Autran Les Enfers Tranquilles! Beautifully defined and precise, with flinty aromas and lovely white-fruit notes. Great tension and salinity—we really like this one too. Another delightful Chenin, courtesy of Stéphane! 

Maxime Magnon La Bégou 2022: Some of us were delighted to revisit this little gem from Corbières in the Languedoc! A very appealing southern white, made from 60% Grenache Gris and 40% Grenache Blanc, with floral notes, a fruity nose and a hint of iodine… Precise and balanced—we love it! A lovely way to end the meal. 

This wonderful tasting ended with plenty of empty bottles on the table—proof that the selection was excellent! Go without hesitation, and on an empty stomach!  

Aux Mandarins de Belleville - 12 rue Jules Romains, Paris 19

A good Chinese restaurant serving thoughtfully prepared dishes—and, best of all, corkage is €6 per bottle! 

Lovely, truly authentic dishes, and you can bring your own bottles: perfect if you don’t want to spend too much and your wines are reaching maturity, or if you need to make room in your cellar without bothering the neighbors or doing the dishes… We enjoyed several wines with beautifully refined dishes! A great evening in Belleville! 

Savagnin Ouillé 24 mois 2020 Kevin Bouillet: A lovely, vibrant and precise Savagnin! Extended aging gives it a full-bodied, beautifully complex character with smoky notes.

Le Bruit 2022 Alexandre Plassat: A deliciously easy-drinking Gamay from the Jura! Made by a little-known winemaker already sought after by Jura enthusiasts, this wine has a lovely tangy backbone and red-fruit notes.

Andreas Tscheppe Salamander Reserve Chardonnay 2021: To finish the meal, we traveled to a country whose wines never stop impressing us with their quality: Austria! Andreas Tscheppe, from the Steiermark region, produces wines of remarkable quality. This Chardonnay won us over with its superb complexity, striking acidity and seemingly endless finish! This is a truly fine wine, like his Sauvignon Blanc, which had also impressed us.

ESTATE VISITS 

Villa Minna - Provence 

During a short weekend trip with colleagues in Provence, we went to taste the wines of Domaine Minna. 

It’s a family estate whose first red vintage was in 1999 and first white vintage in 2005. 

The next generation is carrying on the Villa Minna adventure: the family’s love of wine is as strong as ever, and it shows! The wine labels feature drawings by the children, with blocks of color chosen to reflect each vintage’s characteristics. A family estate, right down to the labels! 

The welcome was delightful, and we got to taste a wide range of wines! 

They produce several red and white cuvées from a lovely range of grape varieties: Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre for the reds; Vermentinu, Roussane and Marsanne for the whites. Their wines carry various designations: IGP Bouches du Rhône, Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhône and Vin de Table. 

MINNA wines are fermented exclusively with indigenous yeasts naturally present on the grapes. No commercial winemaking yeasts or other additives are used, allowing the terroir to express itself authentically.

Each grape variety is aged separately in an underground cellar. For the MINNA whites, 30% of the wine is aged in barrels and 70% in small stainless-steel tanks. The MINNA reds are aged exclusively in barrels, on fine lees, with regular bâtonnage. New barrels are not used, preserving the terroir’s aromatic expression.

After 12 months of aging for the whites and 24 months for the reds, the wines are blended to achieve an easy-drinking, harmonious balance.

Every vintage has its own character. Like a great chef adapting creations to the seasons, the approach is adjusted each year to the particular qualities of the harvest. There is no attempt to standardize the wines, allowing each vintage to fully express the character of its year.

The young whites are already drinking very well, while the reds need a few more years! The 2006 red and 2021 white were particular favorites! 

If you’re near Aix-en-Provence, don’t hesitate to call and book a tasting—and pick up a few bottles on-site that will surprise your guests! 

Domaine Bargemone - Provence

During that memorable weekend, we also visited Domaine Bargemone! 

Domaine Bargemone covers 120 hectares! Huge. All its vines are farmed organically. The estate produces several wines in different categories: 

Classique: rosé, red and white

Libre: rosé, red and white (single-parcel selection) 

Les Secrets: rosé, red and white (aged in oak barrels) 

Single-varietal wines: Viognier and Sauvignon 

Bascule: two natural wines, white and red 

Minuit: sparkling wine made using the Provençal method

Impressed by the brand-new facilities following extensive renovations, we visited the cellar and press after a day of harvesting, then tasted much of the range. 

We all really enjoyed the rosés and whites, with the rosé from the Les Secrets range a particular favorite. A lovely, well-balanced and highly expressive food-friendly rosé, perfect with fish. And be sure to discover our rosé wines on the site! 

Don’t hesitate to contact them: they often welcome groups, and the reception is warm. The beautiful facilities offer a lovely setting with views of Montagne Sainte-Victoire! 

Domaine Josmeyer - Alsace

A little trip to Alsace! 

One of our team members spent a weekend there and visited Domaine Josmeyer, an Alsace must-visit! A wonderful welcome and a lovely tasting, as the photo shows. 

This estate was founded in 1854 near Colmar. Today it has 90 plots on the plains and on the slopes of the Hengst and Brand Grands Crus, totaling 24 hectares. Its vineyards have been certified organic and biodynamic since 2004! This lovely family estate was first passed from father to son, then from father to daughters! 

Time to taste! 

Rieslings, Pinot Gris, Hengst and Brand Grands Crus… Plenty to enjoy! 

Lovely wines with great tension: precise, clean and complex. 

We love it! 

If you’re in Alsace, don’t hesitate to call them—you’ll receive a wonderful welcome!