Last Wednesday at Sylvain’s

My first time on Sylvain’s balcony. Weißensee! How quiet it is here. I’m already looking forward to the wines we’re going to taste tonight. Sylvain’s hair is very short, he »picked the wrong extension«.

1. Domaine Ostertag »L’exutoire – SVV3«, 2018: »Riesling? Chardonnay? Sauvignon Blanc?« »No. Come on!« »Alsace?« »Yes, very good.« »Because of the shape of the bottle!« »Oui.« I recognize typical Loire grape varieties now and then. Others? Difficult! »Alsace was right! So…? »Sylvain, tell me! I’ll take notes!« »The six grape varieties you’re allowed to grow there are Pinot Gris, Blanc and Noir, plus Silvaner…«, I  interrupt him here, »…Riesling and Gewürztraminer, right?« »Right! And this is a Silvaner.« This wine tastes like clear golden apple juice, it’s round and aromatic. We discuss the »Vieilles Vignes«, meaning old vines, which is written on the back of the bottle. Exactly how old are the vines?

2. Gilles Azzoni »Brân 09«, 2009: ›Rumtopf‹ is my first association. Sylvain asks, »Region?» Me: »South.« »Southern Loire. Ardeche! Burgundy grape varieties. So?« »Oh, uh, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot… and Grenache?» »Right! Very good.« »Pretty volatile, isn’t it?« »Yes, the volatile acidity is concise, typical of the winemaker.« A brilliant wine! I find it very exciting!  Sylvain believes the wine had been in barrel for around five years when he bought it, on the spot, in 2016. »Animating!«, Sylvain says. 13 years old and very alive!

3. Thomas Puéchavy »266«, 2019: Thomas’s oxidative Chenin, released in 0,5l bottles, which I sold in one go to Denmark, to the superb company Lieu-dit who’ve been importing Thomas’s wines since 2020. They then sold all the bottles they got to Noma. No joke! And now Noma is pouring it as part of its wine pairing. We are having bottle #232. Sylvain is enthusiastic: »Pear. Licorice. The nose! Wow. Tell Thomas I loved it!« Paired with the pavlova, the sweet dessert Sylvain made, the wine actually tastes like marshmallow.