For twenty years now, Éric Cuestas has been promoting natural wines in the Pink City, a pioneer amongst pioneers for unadorned wines at this brick bistro. The guy knows what he’s talking about, and even the classic Revue du vin de France wine magazine honored him with the Best Wine Shop of 2021 award. Here, regulars sit down for lunch with seasonal, terroir-based cuisine (terrine, pork loin, line-caught hake…), while popping open the owner’s bottles for an €8 corkage fee. His bottles oscillate between new gems (an Auxerre Pinot noir from Édouard Lepesme for €19 a bottle, an Aveyron red from Pauline Broqua at €14.50…), and major classics of the genre – an Hérault Mourvèdre from Jean-François Coutelon (€22.90), Rouillon, a Cheverny from Zoé and Thierry Puzelat (€17.80), Les Chamois du Paradis, a Côtes-du-Jura white from Jean-François Ganevat (€81), MMXIX, a Morgon from Lapierre (€37.80)… A sharp selection that is also available for purchase online, minus the shop’s convivial ambiance. // A.M.
The bullet-proof bottle: A rare Gaillac Len de l’El from the Domaine Philémon (€8.30).
