Lavinia is one of our favourite wine stores in Paris. Whatever you are looking for, it seems that you find it at Lavinia. If you want, for example, to have a tasting with organic wines, you will find lots of them at the Lavinia wine shop, at different price levels. At a very reasonable price level I selected these five wines for a tasting of organic wines the other day.
Château Richard, Cuvée Osée, 2010, Bergerac
Grapes are merlot and cabernet franc and no added sulphur. This is a very drinkable wine with generous fruit and lovely freshness. It has much more fruit than your average Bergerac, if it is due to the fact that it has no sulphur, I don’t know. Anyway it is a bargain for 10 €.
Château La Grolet, L´Eglantier, 2009, Côte de Bourg, Bordeaux
I discovered this biodynamic château last year and it has quickly become one of my Bordeaux favourites in the lower price range. Grapes are merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, ripe, but still fresh fruit dominates the nose and the palace. There is structure and also complexity. If you can get a Bordeaux as good as this one for 11, 50 €, why complain about the Bordeaux prices?
Epaulé Jeté 2010, Domaine Breton, Bourgueil
Catherine and Pierre Breton in Bourgueil have been working organically and biodynamically for a long time, although I think they never applied for a certificate. They make superb wines from the star grape of Bourgueil, cabernet franc. People who do not like cabernet franc (sometimes people complain about too much green pepper) should try the wines from Breton. We tasted the cuvée Epaulé Jeté 2010 (with a funny label) at 13,10 €, so fruity and refreshing that you long for another glass.
Domaine Gramenon, Haut-Gramenon, 2007, Côtes-du-Rhône
Michelle Aubery-Laurent at Domaine Gramenon does things as naturally as possible and she has found her own wine style, often based on a lot of grenache. This wine is quite dense, with a lot of flavours and a juicy fruit. 13,45 €
Domaine Borie La Vitarèle 2009 Les Schistes, Saint Chinian
The domain is hidden away in the Saint Chinian mountains, with no neighbours for miles and miles. The owner and winemaker Jean-François Izarn makes powerful, yet elegant wines, with a lot of Languedoc character. The soil is schist in parts of Saint Chinian and here it helps the wine to keep the freshness despite the heat in the summer. 16 €
Lavinia now have two shops in Paris:
- Lavinia Paris Madeleine: 3 boulevard de la Madeleine, 75001 Paris
- Lavinia Cnit/La Defense: 2, Place de la Défense, 92800 Puteaux
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