First collaborationAccord Tannique with the CE of Tisseo Engineering. In the heart of Toulouse, I have the pleasure of being accompanied by jazz pianist Étienne Manchon. With him I propose a tasting of 5 exceptional wines. Participants were able to discover the subtleties of the Music & Wine agreements.
Selection of 6 high-end wines
- Domaine Dirler-Cadé – Riesling – AOP Alsace – 2022
- Area Seppi Landmann – Zinnkoepfle Grand Cru – AOP Alsace – 1995
- Area Sarris – V for Vostilidi – IGP Coteaux d'Ainos, Kéfalonia – 2022
- The Clos du Caillou – Les Quartz – AOP Côtes du Rhône – 2022
- Domaine Vial-Magnères – Gaby Vial 7 years old – Banyuls
- Area Seppi Landmann – VT Riesling Grand Cru – AOP Alsace – 2001
Musical chords by jazz pianist Étienne Manchon
A pianist, accompanist, a brat and a composer, Étienne Manchon is an all-terrain pianist. For this special evening, I told him about the wine style, I gave him qualifiers and as much information as possible, and he transcribed this information into music.
Back in image of the evening
The tasting sheets of the Soenologist
Wine #1 – Put the place in a glass!
Area : Dirler-Cadé (field 100% Biodynamics)
Located in the small village of Bergholtz, southeast of Guebwiller. Jean Dirler, heir to a long line of winemakers dating back to 1871, and his companion Ludivine Cadé cultivated 18 hectares of vines, of which 42% were classified in AOC Alsace Grand Cru Saering, Spiegel, Kessler or Kitterlé.
- 4 Grand Crus of the 51 that Alsace counts
Name: AOP Alsace
Terror : great diversity of terroirs, where an important variety of wines originates (cf. tasting at the estate, 22 bottles tasted, a great moment)
What is exciting is the ability of men and women to transform a place, to soak a place, to put it in a glass. I'm fascinated by that!
Grape(s): 100% Riesling – King of Alsace
Cuvée: Riesling Sec
Vintage: 2022
Service: 10-11°
Carafage: 2H before
Alcohol: 13%
Description : Pure and subtle – Expression of terroir
Dress : pale yellow dress, drawing on green
Nose : Citrus, lime, tangerine, gunstone. A mineral frame and a petrole side.
Mouth : Juicy, dynamic and fresh with an acidic finish. End of mouth bitters, incisive acidity. Ideal for starting a tasting.
Music & Wine Agreement : Minerality / Freshness / Youth / Incisive acidity / Typical
"Autumn Leaves" modern version
Wine #2: Wine, a time machine
Area : Seppi Landmann (8.5 ha)
A figure of Alsatian winemaking, Seppi Landmann managed to develop a vineyard of eight hectares of vines, but also and above all to build a reputation of quality among the wines of Alsace.
Name: AOC Alsace – Zinnkoepfle GC (one of the largest dry white wines in the estate)
Terror : Argilo-calcary, altitude, the highest terroir of the appellation
Grape(s): 100% Riesling (40 year olds)
Cuvée: Zinnkoepfle GC (means « sunhead » south orientation)
Vintage: 1995
Service: 10°
Carafage: not to be used directly at the time of opening
Alcohol: 12%
Description : Unique moment, how lucky to be able to taste such an old vintage. Last bottles in circulation. Wine is a time machine!
Tasting old wines deserves a form of cultivation, it is an unacquired taste that requires experience. This makes it possible to understand a terroir, a history. Unfortunately this habit is lost, there is almost no one who offers this type of bottle. I fear that the younger generations will no longer understand these wines that build the history of a region of a terroir.
Today we are looking for primary and more physical than spiritual sensations.
Bottle not found, maybe the last one in circulation?
Dress : Orange yellow, golden
Nose : Still fresh and expressive. Oil / mint / honey / basil and apricots
Mouth : Round, see lemon, acid, sweet and smoky, nice length, salivating, leaves a nice sensation in the mouth.
Music & Wine Agreement : Unique time / timeless / old vintage / Variations on the theme of Autumn Leaves (version of the 20s/30s)
Wine No. 3: An exotic wine to taste blindly
Area : Sarris – the vineyard was founded by Panos Sarris (large Greek sommelier)
Name: island of Cephalonia / IGP Coteaux d'Ainos, Kéfalonia
You drink as much a character as a wine!
Apprenti chez Sclavos (the great Greek estate) + long and fruitful sommelier career and a significant entrepreneurial experience with its own restaurant, on one of the beautiful beaches of the island, Panos decided to devote itself to the production of natural wine.
Grape(s): 100% Vostilidi
This white grape variety originates in Greece; his name means « August jewel »
Cuvée: V for Vostilidi
Vintage: 2022
Service: 13°
Carafage: 1 hour before
Alcohol: 13,5%
Description: V for Vostilidi is an even more revolutionary wine than it appears. Placed on the tables of the world's largest starred restaurants, it is the perfect blend of food and wine. Complex, original, balanced and endowed with a magnificent intensity, it will surprise more than one! It is a naturally orange wine.
Dress: Mysterious dress, golden drawing on orange but shiny.
Nose: Explosive nose, citrus, dried chrysanthemums. Gunstone, papaya, pineapple, orange bark. Very complex!
Tasting: In the palate, all this becomes more intense, more mineral, more smoky, more spicy, with tannins and lively acidity. Sesame sensation. Grandiose!
Accord Mets & Vins : Greek cuisine, various fish, mushrooms risotto.
Music & Wine Agreement : Exotic / Complex / bitterness / Sensation / Original
Etienne inspired by Dhafer Youssef & Tigran Hamasyan
Wine 4 : blind for Etienne // Total improvisation
Area : Le Clos du Caillou
Name: Côtes du Rhône (anecdote on the delimitation of the AOC in 1936, when hunters oppose it)
Terror : Rolled quartzite pebbles floor, sandy basement located inside the Clos du Caillou, enclaved in the appellation Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Grape(s): 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah
Cuvée: The Quartzes
Vintage: 2022
Service: 16°
Carafage: 2H before
Alcohol: 14,5%
Description : Magic cuvée with aromas of cherries, raspberry, my love of the year 2024!
The fruit is Light, clean mouth. This tension, this freshness, this ability to make the terroirs speak rather than the heat of the vintage. One feels the paw of the domain, regularity, care, fidelity to style. And we understand, with every sip, why the Clos du Caillou is a bestseller: because these wines never seek to please... They're trying to move.
Dress : Nice glossy ruby dress with purple reflections
Nose : Black raspberry, black liquorice, peppery garrigue and floral notes
Mouth : long, elegant and persistent finish. Mint notes and roasted!
Music & Wine Agreement : Warm / Elegance / Coup de coeur / Persistence
Etienne improvises on the paradox between Power and Subtility, in the image of wine!
Wine #5 : An old Banyul to finish in beauty
Area : Vial-Magneres (name legend field)
Bernard Saperas, an icon of this vineyard that has made Banyuls known worldwide. Left too early, in 2013, he left behind a masterful work!
Reprised by Laurent Dal Zovo, elected winemaker of the year 2021 by the Hachette Guide.
Name: Banyuls
Terror : Schistes. Planting in terraces, driving cup. Mediterranean climate, warm and dry summer, mild winter. Very windy, the Tramontane is almost daily.
Marine entry = natural mist
Grape(s): 70% Grenache Black / 30% Grenache Grey
Cuvée: Gaby Vial
Service: between 12-15° (not too cold)
Carafage: 2H
Alcohol: 16.45% / 80gr residual sugar
Description More commonly called 7 years of age, this Banyuls is more oxidative than traditional Banyuls.
Banyuls are so-called wines « transferred » : i.e. alcohol is added to the must to stop alcoholic fermentation, which helps to keep some of the natural sugar in the grape.
This one is aged in oak (reddening medium) to give a typical oxidative banyuls!
Description: An intense pleasure around the combo: macerated cherry, fig, cocoa
Dress : Tiled, amber red
Nose : We have the fruitiness of Grenache + fig, a little nutty. Nose of candied red fruits, mainly macerated cherry, some coffee and chocolate/cacao. Caramel.
Mouth : Unctuous, but digested at once – The mouth is tender, supple, greedy and slightly oxidative
Music & Wine Agreement : From Past to Present / Meditation Wine / Power / Sun
Etienne improvises on a Carmen theme, evocation of Spain, wine & sensual music
