Uncorked: Nathalie Nelles
Tell us about the moment you first became interested in wine
I grew up around my parents drinking wine and so without realising I came to the industry with a bit of the vernacular already built in. I can’t point to an exact moment of becoming interested in wine but I do remember the first time I drank something that really caught me by surprise - a bottle of 2013 Ganevat Cuvée de l’Enfant Terrible. After that I couldn’t ever go back to drinking dead, lifeless, characterless wine. It was like going from black and white to technicolour.
Describe your wine list at Goodbye Horses
The list is a love song to the producers I champion. Rather than being organised by colour or grape, wines are listed by producers. It means that I only work with producers who I really believe in - not cherry-picking a wine here or there but loving and supporting the totality of a winemaker’s work. It’s my preference to drink wines without sulphites and the list reflects that. It’s seemingly a point of contention for a lot of people; there seems to be this narrative in London right now that the only natural wines worth drinking are the ones dosed with a judicious amount of sulphur to mitigate any potential variations or flaws or bottle shock. I disagree.
Over the course of your career, have you had any wine-related disasters?
It’s not wine but it is fermentation adjacent; when I was at Noble Fine Liquor (the wine shop from the team behind the now closed Bright and P.Franco we once left a bottle of water kefir out overnight (the team at Bright was making these at that time). I woke up to a bunch of notifications from the Nest camera that motion had been detected. I was convinced the shop had been broken into. Instead, I came in to find a graveyard of glass and a thick layer of sticky, sweet, dried kefir coating everything in that fated bottle’s proximity.
Name your top three restaurant wine lists
Hector’s, 40 Maltby Street and 107 (all in London).
Who do you most respect in the wine world?
Ups to my bestie Sam Garas, who’s working for Terroir Vinhos de Identidade in Lisbon. Sam has such a beautiful relationship with the wine industry and a sensitivity to wines and winemakers that I think we could all use more of. He’s also working to change up the nature of the industry there, to move away from these ideas of importers being each other’s competition, and to create a vibrant community where people’s shared passions and care for the wines they sell make everyone richer, in more ways than one.
What’s the most interesting wine you’ve come across recently?
I was recently invited to a vertical tasting of Domaine du Mazel, where we got to taste their Cuvee Mias viogniers dating back to 2001. First of all - it’s viognier like none other; all salinity and power and structure. But with that age on it - just insane. Tertiary, rich, but full of vibrant character: a life well lived.
What are the three most overused tasting notes?
Pale Provencal rosé.
What’s the best value wine on your list at the moment?
There are so many seriously well-priced wines on our list. Seriously. But I worked hard to find a few bits that were extremely accessible in terms of price point and am proud to say we’ve got a really delicious white from Valdibella (a gorgeous, only permaculture cooperative in Sicily) on at £6 a glass and £29 a bottle.
What is your ultimate food and drink match?
Philippe Bornard once poured me a glass of his 2016 Vin Jaune and passed me a chunk of 48-month comté with the tip of his knife. I’ll never forget it.
Old World or New World?
Old World.
What is your pet hate when it comes to wine service in other restaurants?
Directing wine service attention to whichever man is seated at the table.
Who is your favourite producer right now?
Christophe Foucher, because he’s an incredible winemaker, farmer, is unrelentingly dedicated to his work and beliefs and has a bunch of really excellent geese.
At Goodbye Horses what question do you most get asked by customers?
Can you talk me through the wines by the glass? (Answer: yeah, absolutely).
Which wine producing region or country is underrated at the moment?
I’m having a real moment of love for Catalan wines. Xarel-lo is really the thing I want to drink in the summertime. The region produces wines of such immense value that are detailed and pure and saline. Every time you drink a good one it’s like being transported to a sunny holiday far, far from here.
It’s your last meal and you can have a bottle of any wine in the world. What is it and why?
I’m with my mom, at our house in France, drinking Pat Desplats and probably not even thinking about it that much. It’s on the table to feed you, to lubricate the conversation, to be a part of the moment and the experience but not be the moment and the experience. I think Pat’s wines are so nourishing, and I suppose if it’s my last drink on Earth I want to leave that table feeling well-fed.
