Conservative or daring: tell me which wine you uncork, and I'll tell you who you are (but know that disappointment is part of the experience)

"Have you noticed, yes / That all this calculated risk / Takes the taste even from chocolate..." sings Brunori Sas in one of his most intimate songs, La verità. Let's listen to the voice of the Calabrian singer-songwriter in the company of a friend, a serial taster, and two bottles of wine. He plays it safe, bringing a bottle of Dom Pérignon 2010, that yellow label that makes millions of wine lovers dream worldwide. The latest unofficial estimate (the maison does not release this kind of information) speaks of a production of 5 million bottles just for the cuvée inspired by the famous Benedictine monk. We put on the table a bottle of Cuvée Irizée Meunier 2013 by Regis Poissinet, a single-plot wine produced in the Marne Valley, drawn in 1,702 copies. We had fallen in love with his Rosé and decided to try our luck with one of his rare labels. Davide tastes first, leaving Golia the task of closing the evening.

David against Goliath

The Meunier (disgorged in 2017) is very mature in its tones of apple, helichrysum, and tamarind. The palate is dense, fleshy, richly spiced with white pepper and sandalwood. A bit soft and static, it confirms that the variety does not age with the same grace as a Barolo from Serralunga; the finish is short, leaving a curious note of carob and rhubarb. We go back two or three times in the glass to try to understand it. We almost feel ashamed to confess that we paid over 100 euros for it, but even the perlage lacks continuity, and the acidity is a memory. Is it a transitional bottle? The drinking companion smiles and uncorks the Dom. The fresh vintage gives a nose even more fragrant than usual, after the citrus peel, there is the classic note of sponge cake, white chocolate, and coffee. The mouth is incredibly precise, velvety, the tasty red fruit, a round of sweet spices accompanies the sip well supported by a great acidic thrust. Everything is in its place. Everything is perfect. The evolution gives a sense of completeness, one of the best bottles of Dom Pérignon tasted in recent years. Both agree: there is no match. The bottle of Poissinet remains half, the Dom evaporates.

The world is divided into two types of drinkers

To make it short, the world is divided into two types of drinkers. There are those who seek confirmation, comfort, certainty, and those who uncork to fuel doubt, to take risks, for the taste of unpredictability. Disappointment is part of the experience; it is also a calculated risk. In the first case, one looks for the safe bottle, the brand, the big name; in the second, the small producer, the craftsman, the slight imperfection capable of opening another world. These are two types of drinking, two types of people. Occasionally, they meet.