I fly to Madrid for an exceptional musical tasting with the mezzo-soprano Léa Desandre and the luthist Thomas Dunford. Two very great-class artists, who proposed magnificent chords from their latest duo album: Idylle.
A selection of very high-level wine
- Benoît Marguet – Shaman – AOP Champagne – 2020
- Didier Dagueneau – Silex – AOP Pouilly-Fumé – 2020
- Domaine de Montille – Grand Cru – AOP Corton Charlemagne – 2015
- Vega Sicilia – Unico Reserva Especial – 2003/2004/2006 – Ribera del Duero
- Château Pichon Longueville – 2nd Cru Ranked – AOP Médoc – 1996 & 1978
- Royal Tokaji – Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos – 2014
See the tasting notes of the Soenologist at the bottom of the page
Musical chords by the mezzo-soprano Léa Desandre and the luthist Thomas Dunford
Through their new album entitled « Idyll », the mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre and the luthist Thomas Dunford explore the love song in French through the ages, from Charpentier to Offenbach, until Barbara and Françoise Hardy. A record full of tenderness and poetry.
Playlist of the evening HERE
Back in image of the evening
The tasting sheets of the Soenologist
The Tannic Accord of the evening? A great Barbara classic: Say, when will you come back?
With the magnificent wine of Vega Sicilia: Unico Reserva Especial. Deepness, complexity, obviousness!
Wine number 1 : Domaine Benoît Marguet
It embodies one of the most fulgurating progresses of Champagne! When it is neither in the vineyard nor in the cellar, Benoit Marguet makes meditation, yoga, close to shamans and druids. His wine looks like him: it hovers very high, fascinates, bewitches a little. He named his cuvée Shaman to express man's need to reconnect with nature.
Name: Champagne – Grand Cru
Terror : Reims Mountain – Bouzy – Ambonnay
Grape(s): Pinot Noir (84%) Chardonnay (16%)
Cuvée: Shaman
Vintage: 2021
Service: 8-10°
Carafage: 30 minutes before
Alcohol: 12%
Dress : intense golden dress, constellated with fine and lively bubbles. A slightly pink side.
Nose : The nose is structured in two stages. First of all fruity notes (green apple, quince, pear) that follow more candied and milky notes, brioched, with a hint of honey.
Tasting : A vibrant champagne, it is ample, fresh and gourmet. The finish is persistent and salivating!
Music & Wine Agreement:
- Whats so you (in duo)
- No fear in this wood (dual)
Wine n°2 : Domaine Dagueneau – cuvée Silex
Area : Didier Dagueneau (died 2008 in an accident of ULM) – domain taken over by his son Louis-Benjamin (vigneron of the year in 2016 by RVF)
Name: Loire Valley (but classified in French wine because angry with the appellation Pouilly Smoke)
Terror : Sols of flint, hence the name of the cuvée!
Grape(s): 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Cuvée: Silex
Vintage: 2020
Service: 12°
Carafage: 2H before
Alcohol: 13,5%
Description : It's one of the best Sauvignon in the world!
Perhaps it is with this wine that one really understands what the notion of minerality in wine is.
Nose : The nose is beautiful, on minerality. We have smoky shades, from stone to ++ rifle, we feel like we're feeling the match we just cracked. A lot of freshness, noble plant, elder, and a light strawberry side of the woods.
Tasting : The touch is crystal clear. A lot of purity in this wine! The tension is maximum, sharp acidity. The balances are there, with a lot of matter. You feel the personality of the winemaker, it's great.
Music & Wine Agreement:
- Reynaldo Hahn : Neer (in duet)
- The first happiness of the day (in duo)
- Bach : Suite in G Minor (Thomas solo)
Wine #3 : Domaine de Montille
Name: Located in Volnay en Beaune Coast – Corton Charlemagne – Grand Cru
Hubert de Montille is an alterglobalist in the film Mondovino (2004)
"where there is vine, there is civilization. There is no barbarism"
Chardonnay from vines conducted in biodynamics on a plot of 1.02 ha, originally planted with Pinot Noir.
A year of production in barrels with about 30% new drums, then 6 months of production in stainless steel tanks.
Grape(s): 100% Chardonnay
Cuvée: Grand Cru
Vintage: 2015
Service: 12°
Carafage: 3-4H before
Alcohol: 13%
Nose : A very burgundy profile, the nose is complex, carried by notes of candied fruits, yuzu, dry apricot, but with a scratchy touch. One side toasted bread, and buttered, + hazelnut at the end of the mouth.
Tasting : A powerful mouth, there is a lot of density. Matter is rich, and the finale is endless.
Music & Wine Agreement:
– The human voices of Marais (in solo)
– Let the night last (in duo)
Wine #4 : Château Pichon Baron de Longueville
Area : Château Pichon Baron de Longueville
Name: Bordeaux – Pauillac
Grape(s): Cabernet Sauvignon by majority and Merlot
Cuvée: Medoc – 2nd Cru Ranked
Vintage: 1996
Service: 17°
Carafage: 2h before
Nose : Some primary aromas like blackcurrant, blackberry and pepper, but especially a lot of devolution. Notes of tobacco leaf, cigar box, spices, peppery herbs and light leather.
Tasting : A striking acidity, probably linked to the vintage. A light and fresh texture. Tobacco notes persist.
Music & Wine Agreement:
- Blackbird (solo)
- Reynaldo Hahn A Shloris (in duet)
Wine n°5 : Vega Sicilia
Area : Vega Sicilia
Name: Ribera del Duero
Grape(s): Tempranillo by majority and Cabernet Sauvignon
Cuvée: Unico Reserva Especial – 2003/2004/2006
Vintage: 2003/2004/2006
Service: 17°
Carafage: Open and shoulder the bottle at least 2 hours in advance
Alcohol: 13%
Description : «Reserva Special» is a mention previously given in Spain for a wine blending the best vintages. Vega Sicilia wanted to preserve the traditions and thus assemble its best vintages for a bottle expressing the quintessence of the vineyard
Livestock 18 months in new barrels and 30 months in used barrels. The barrels are made within the estate itself, among the longest farms on the planet, and some vintages are ruled out so deemed insufficiently qualitative...
Nose : A very complex and extensive aromatic range. Notes of candied black fruit, mint notes, + noble leather mixed with tertiary aromas of cloves, cocoa, praline and shades of undergrowth, truffle.
Tasting : This wine is of remarkable complexity at the dawn of its peak. The mouth is structured, very balanced and very fine. For me it's the wine of the evening!
Music & Wine Agreement:
- Calata (in solo)
- Say, when will you come back? (duo)
Wine #6 : Royal Tokaji
Area : Royal Tokaji
Name: Tokaji (Hungary)
Proclaimed by Louis XIV: wine of kings, king of wines
Berries « Aszú » (which means « dried » from grapes dried on the vine, affected by Botrytis.
Grape(s): furmint, harslevelu (and some muscat)
Cuvée: Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos
Vintage: 2014
Service: 10-12°
Carafage: not required
Alcohol: 11%
Each grape affected by Botrytis is harvested by hand and placed in « puttonyos », hoods of harvesters, which contain a maximum of 25 kg of grapes. The grapes are then assembled into a quiet wine. This process gives the wine more body, acidity and richness. The number of puttonyos that are added to a 136-litre barrel creates different levels of richness and sweetness in the wine. The more puttonyos are added to the wine, the more its concentration, aromatic complexity and richness increase.
Description : Golden dress see amber.
Nose : Very intense nose with candied apricot, candied lemon, quince paste, raisins, orange marmalade, orange blossom, chestnut honey, dates, saffron, turmeric. I also have a maple syrup side at the end of my mouth.
Tasting : But that's good, acidity is amazing and counterbalances perfectly sugar (169.9 g/l). It's fine, airy, very digestible.
Music & Wine Agreement:
- Blindman (solo Thomas + blind)
- Offenbach: The beautiful Helen: « We need love » (duo)
