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As told to Tristan Olphe-Gallaird of Big Bouffe
First of all, there will be no Vidal-Fleury at my table as I rarely drink the wines we make. But this year, as I have foreign origins, the idea that came to me is to make my Christmas selection mainly outside of France.
So I’m going to do a tour of the reds from the North West of Spain (Navarre, Rueda, Torro, Rioja) which have wines rather robust and based on aging.
For the whites, I’ll pick some Jerez which have the advantage of sweeping a very broad spectrum, from very dry to mellow or even sweet wines with oxidative aging.
Since it’s been fifteen years since I’ve been to these regions, I’m going to ask friends who work in Spain for advice.
To accompany these wines, however, I will remain faithful to the Southwest: black Gascony ham to echo the Spanish Pata Negra. And also duck in all its forms: foie gras, aiguillettes, confits … with well-structured Spanish reds it will be fine.
I will also eat local desserts like croustades, with a very old and very dry Armagnac as I like them. I will again call friends from the Gers and we will trade some bottles Côte-Rôtie for a few bottles of Armagnac.
But now I am also thinking that I’d like to drink some Bandol wines, some Mourvèdre grapes with very pronounced aging.
And in white, Pacherenc de Vic-Bilh. Once again I am going to ask friends for advice so that they can introduce me to winemakers that I don’t necessarily know. It’s the discovery that interests me, even if I can recommend the very good Pacherenc from the Plaimont cooperative winery where I worked years ago.
Guy Sarton du Jonchay
From French and Argentinian origins, Guy Sarton du Jonchay has worked in both hemispheres : France, Argentina, and Australia.
In 2008 he became the oenologist and managing director of Vidal-Fleury the oldest wine domain from the Rhône Valley. Thomas Jefferson, once US ambassador in France, visited the domain in 1787. They produce some of the most prestigious wines of the region : Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Hermitage, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
VIDAL-FLEURY
48 route de Lyon – 69420 Tupin et Semons
+33 (0)4 74 56 10 18
vidal-fleury.com
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