Sharon Bowman

A mouthful of pig and a handful of grapes

I love those sticky, fatty, piggy dishes, especially as in Paris, autumn is starting to cool down the air and a cold breeze sometimes picks at my cuffs.

Lately, I stopped in at Le Comptoir and knew I had to glut myself on some offal. The main course would be a boned, breaded pig’s foot. But what to drink with it?

2008 Gramenon Poignée de Raisins – The match was tasty, as was the wine itself. All silk carbonic perfection from this young-vines Grenache cuvée of the „natural” Côtes du Rhône producer. It had both raspberry-fruited purity and clove-y, peppery complexity; it was „natural” and showed the thin edge of no sulfur, but had no flaws. Nary a whiff of brettanomyces, etc. In fact, the absence of flaws, in combination with natural winemaking transparency, was a source of fascination, pointing out that when it’s done right, that approach is compelling.

* Sharon Bowman,
pisarka, znawczyni wina.