Wine Tasting : Terroir, Typicality and Renewed Interpretation

Speaker : Eric Sautedé
WSET Advanced Certificate L3

Cépages  : Grape varieties, as Gamay, Malbec, Syrah, Pinot, Sauvignon...
Terroirs : (derived from the Latin word terra) meaning earth, land, soil...

Very often, we associate certain grapes with certain terroirs: Pinot and Chardonnay reign in Burgundy; Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc have to be from the Loire Valley; and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sémillon find their best expression in Bordeaux. Coming from or widely found on these particular terroirs, these grapes are supposed to express themselves to the full, reflect more truly their varietal origin, in short find their true typicality (typicité) in these regions and in these regions only…

Well, yes and no. In order to broaden our horizon – although we will stay exclusively in France this time – we will somehow compare the incomparable, explore back-to-back the unusual, and see whether our deeply ingrained conception should be challenged a little: we will thus have Gamay from Beaujolais, but also from Ardèche; Malbec from Cahors, but also from the Loire valley; and Syrah from the Rhone valley, but also from Gaillac. In this all-red session, all wines will be organic as well.