03/12/2025
(Suburban) PARIS BISTRO LIFE
Sparkling Gallic wines at L. et les Garçons, 146 rue du Président Wilson, Levallois-Perret.
I feel like an intruder when I first enter the room for a tasting organized for wine professionals. Then I pick up a glass and the wine list by the door and dive right in on my discovery mission. And I go with the flow—rather, the pour. Today’s discovery was the sparkling wines of Gaillac, a little-known appellation from southwest France, situated between Toulouse and Albi.
I’d attended a tasting of Gaillac whites two weeks ago, so I wasn’t completely lost, but I had plenty of learn, which I did over 22 wines and tutoring from patient winegrowers. The local Mauzac grape—which one after the other told me had crisp notes of apple and pear—is used for Gaillac sparklings, which are made solely using the “ancestral method.” That means that the bubbles and varied sugar content are created by the fermentation finishing the bottle. By contrast, the “traditional method,” à la Champagne, involves a double fermentation, first in the vats and second in the bottle thanks to the addition of yeast and sugar, later topped off with a liqueur d’expédition that typically adds and controls the final sugar content.
I won’t compare Champagne to sparkling Gaillac other than to say that at a retail price of 10-15€ per bottle, Gaillac makes for a pleasing, inexpensive aperitif. Most is brut, while demi-sec and sweet also exist. Quality and tastes varied among the 22 examples offered, but in my inexpert (though now more informed) opinion, I’d rather not announce favorites. Instead, I suggest that, if you can find a bottle, you buy it, chill it and give it a try.
The event was held at L. et les Garçons, a restaurant in an old-fashion bistro setting in Levallois-Perret, an immediate northwestern suburb of Paris abutting the 17th arrondissement and easily reachable by metro on line 3. Between the warmth of the staff and of the setting, and having become an insider on the bistro circuit, I felt right at home. L. is Laure, accompanied here by chef Kevin. David, the other garçon, had left for the evening by the time I took the photo of Laure and Kevin below. I can’t say that I know the cuisine that Kevin presents on the menu, but if the meal that he whipped up at the last minute for five wine folk and one guy on a discovery mission is any indication, it’s as tastefully homey as can be, with an extensive wine list… and a turn table with vintage albums.
Levallois-Perret is a comfortable, corporate-office-rich suburb. With so many offices in the immediate surroundings, L et les Garçons naturally primarily attracts a corporate crowd at lunchtime (open Monday-Friday). In fact, dinner is only served on Wednesday and Thursday evening.
146 rue du Président Wilson, Levallois-Perret. https://restaurantlelg.com/
