Uncorked: Daniel Manetti
How did you first become interested in wine?
I got my interest in wine from an early age. My late grandfather always had a small plot of vines of Sangiovese and Trebbiano in the hills of Montaione in the middle of Colli Fiorentini (in Chianti), and he has consistently produced a few thousand bottles for family and friends’ consumption. Since I was a kid, I always helped him in the vineyards and in the cellar, where possible. For me, it was fascinating, and I loved spending time with him in the vineyard.
Talk us through the list at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
The main focus of the list is on classic wine regions and well-established sought-after producers in mature ready-to-drink vintages. Since 2016 the wine offer has been extended in volume and variety, with French wines previously accounting for 90% of the selection, to the current 3,500 labels with a much more international approach. While the Old World is still divided by appellation, the wines from the New World are proposed by grape variety. We have close relationships with some of the wine world’s most famous producers but we also like working with much smaller scale suppliers, for example we have a focus on grower champagne.
Over the course of your career, have you had any wine-related disasters?
Incidents and inconveniences can happen to everybody. The critical aspect is the attitude and the reaction you face them. If you handle it promptly and adequately, the guest understands, and there are no further issues. Regarding the quality of the wines, we have fewer and fewer issues since streamlining our suppliers considerably. We try not to buy from broking lists and source back vintages directly from the estate or chateau.
Name your top three restaurant wine lists
Since I started to work in wine, I have always been a fan of the wine list of Eleven Madison Park in New York. That remains a great classic for me and always a reference point. Another excellent wine list is Geranium in Copenhagen, with a great variety and choice of traditional, Old World styles and new-age, minimal-intervention labels alongside off-the-beaten-track appellations. I must also mention Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence. With a 4,500-bin wine list, it is arguably Italy’s top wine restaurant.
Who do you most respect in the wine world?
One of the people I most admired in the world of wine is the late Steven Spurrier. Steven became famous with the 1976 Judgement of Paris, which put California Wines on the map. Even more importantly, he positively impacted all the other producers. During those years, the setback has also shaken and kick-started a necessary revival in quality viticulture and winemaking in France.
What’s the most interesting wine you’ve ever come across?
The wine world is constantly changing. There are frequently new wines being produced, new wine regions being explored (and exploited), and new styles being experimented with. Therefore, you can easily understand that there are so many exciting wines out there. Also, global warming is increasingly giving the possibility to produce wine in regions that previously you’d never have considered planting a vine. For instance, Klaus-Peter Keller of Rheinhessen in Germany recently planted a vineyard in Norway in Kristiansand, at a latitude of 58º north, and views towards the North Sea. Geisenheim University forecasted the first harvest in 2050. However, in 2015 and 2018, grapes reached full ripeness.
What are the three most overused tasting notes?
Fruity, fresh and full-bodied.
What’s the best value wine on your list at the moment?
We have many wines with great value on our wine list. I love grape varieties that express the terroir and the essence of the place where they are produced, and Grenache is one of those. At the moment, one of my favourites is the Grenache Uvas de la Ira produced by Daniel Landi. He is one of the vital wine producers at the helm of the current wine revolution happening in Spain. The wine is produced in Mentrida in Sierra de Gredos, west of Madrid. The combination of high altitude, granite-rich free-draining soils and a low-intervention wine-making approach produces wines of lifted elegance, great minerality, freshness and chiselled precision.
What is your ultimate food and drink match?
While I am open to new pairing experiences, I love classics. Nothing can beat an excellent champagne brut nature blanc de blancs served with Fin de Clair oysters. I also can’t resist pairing a nice Riesling Spätlese from the Mosel with a foie gras terrine.
Old World or New World?
We can probably not use this concept of the Old and New World anymore. More and more producers from both sides have been increasingly producing wines inspired and more aligned to the other style. Today is much more a matter of quality and philosophy of the producer rather than a bias of where the wine was produced.
What is your pet hate when it comes to wine service in other restaurants?
One element about wine service drives me crazy: the service temperature of the wine. There are still many casual dining restaurants in London that serve wines at the wrong temperature. Many restaurants store their wines in the dining room, where temperatures can reach 24°C.
Who is your favourite producer at the moment?
Pierre-Yves Colin of Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey. He is the eldest son of the famed Marc Colin and has rapidly become a rock and roll star and one of Burgundy’s top producers. His wines are explicit expressions of its terroir, wines of great precision, tension, elegance and texture.
Which wine producing region/country is currently underrated at the moment?
Despite increasingly being recognised as a world-class pinot noir and chardonnay wine-producing region, Hemel-en-Aarde in South Africa is not rated as it should be. My last wine trip out of Europe was in 2019 when I visited South Africa. This cool climate wine region produces Burgundy-style pinot noir and chardonnay wines of outstanding elegance and distinctive personality.
It’s your last meal and you can have a bottle of any wine in the world. What is it and why?
I would have a bottle of Riesling Scharzhofberger kabinett spätlese from Egon Müller. I love riesling and even more the rieslings from this legendary producer.
