The Best Discovery is Something you Already Know
I spend a lot of time chasing the new: Tasting unfamiliar wines, unearthing up-and-coming producers, venturing into wine regions I can barely pronounce… It's part of the job - one that I thoroughly enjoy. It’s the thrill of the hunt, with the possibility that the next bottle might be something revelatory.
But here's something I've learned after all these years: novelty isn’t everything.
The reality is that finding the new thing is only half the story. For every new wine that excited me, there are a dozen “old friends” I keep going back to. Building a relationship over time with a winemaker, and their wines, is deeply satisfying. Familiarity doesn't diminish the experience — it deepens it. And frankly, those are the bottles I reach for when it counts — friends coming over, and you want the evening to feel less like an experiment and more about simple comforts. There’s the pleasure of anticipation, and of knowing, before you even pull the cork, that this is going to be good… that’s what I’m talking about.
Which brings me to Domaine de La Paroisse. I've drunk these wines more times than I can count, and I've never once thought, "I should have opened something else." They are the wines I pour when want to let the everything shine… the people I’m with, the meal I’ve cooked, the moment.
Jean-Claude Chaucesse’s family has been making wine in the tiny village of Renaison for nine generations now. Nine Generations! That’s a long time to be on the same plot of land, making the same wine, season after season. I’ve been visiting them for years now, and every time I pull up to their cellar, there's this feeling of recognition. Not just of the place, but of what's waiting inside those bottles. I know what their Gamay tastes like, and how it makes an evening feel.
In a world that's constantly shouting about what's new and what's next, there's something profound about saying, "Actually, I just want more of this." Like, more of the impossibly fresh strawberry aromatics that drinks like summer even in the dead of winter. More of the dark, juicy, silky fruit that just gets better the longer you sit with it. More evenings that feel like coming home and settling in.
So here's the point: if you've had these wines before, you know. If you haven't, maybe it's time to start building that relationship. Either way, grab a few bottles. Make something simple and good, open one up, and pour generously. Let the evening unfold at its own pace, just good wine and good company and the comfort of knowing exactly what you're getting.
• La Paroisse Cuvée ‘Coup de Coeur’ 2023 •
Fresh, bright and juicy; Irresistible Gamay
From vines averaging 45+ years old,
Strawberry, red currant, and the kind of easy drinkability that makes bottles disappear faster than you planned
• La Paroisse Cuvée ‘Coup de Foudre’ 2023 •
From vines planted in the 1930s
Dark fruit, silky texture, a finish that lingers
The wine you open when you want the evening to slow down and stretch out
The 2023 vintage was exceptional for Domaine de la Paroisse, and both these bottles are exquisite examples of the poise and energy that Jean-Claude manages to capture in the bottle.