FYI, there’s a Swiss army knife of a woman in the knife-making capital of France! Ranked among the world’s hundred best dealers of small-producer wines by the chic Swiss guide Cavistes, Florence Datessen keeps an eye on her treasure trove of 3,000 natural vintages in her wine shop that feels like a veritable cabinet of curiosities. Selected from the various aisles, a few favorites of this former nurse who fell head over heels in love with low-intervention wines: bottles by friends in Auvergne (the Ussels, Benoît Rosenberger, Patrick Bouju) or from further away (Brän, a merlot-grenache blend from the Ardèche winemaker Gilles Azzoni at €44, Les Palennes, a cabernet franc from the Saumur winemaker François Saint-Lô at €21), and more than a few transalpine gems (Ambarabà, a sparkling Venetian wine at €22). But we recommend sticking around the horseshoe-shaped bar for a drink in the company of local artisans, or grabbing a seat on the terrace so you can enjoy the panoramic views of the Puy-de-Dôme mountain – especially at night, when the blackboard menus dreamt up by chef Ève Tardiff (ex-Hirondelle in Lignières) make an appearance. // Thomas Jossin
THE BULLET-PROOF BOTTLE: Funambule, a pet’ nat’ from Antoine Arraoou, the winemaker at the Château Lafitte in the Béarn (€38).
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