2021 SancerreDaniel Chotard
France | Loire
$39
Producers
Click here to view the current bottling of the Petit Royal!
The village of Seyssel, in the French Alps, has a history of viticulture dating back centuries, having built a reputation for floral-scented charmers from the local grapes, Molette and Altesse. Produced in the méthode traditionnelle and aged for two years sur latte, the Petit Royal is unequaled in the world of sparkling wine: alpine flowers, dried fruit, wildflower honey, and a toasty, yeasty note give this value sparkler an utterly delightful aromatic richness and complexity. Serve it with various salty toasts to kick off your next dinner party, or pop one open to liven up a night at home with a big bowl of mac and cheese. –Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | sparkling |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 70% Molette, 30% Altesse |
Appellation: | Seyssel |
Country: | France |
Region: | Savoie |
Producer: | Lambert de Seyssel |
Winemaker: | Gérard Lambert, Olivier Varichon |
Vineyard: | 10-25 years |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | A liqueur de tirage is added to launch the second (sparkling) fermentation and the bottles are stocked sur latte for two years |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 12% |
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Seyssel
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Seyssel
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Seyssel
The “Royal Seyssel” label, launched in 1901 by the Varichon and Clerc families, was considered the best sparkling Seyssel on the market. But when the operation was purchased in the 1990s by a Burgundian négociant, quality suffered, and in 2007 the owners closed the winery. Dismayed to see what their great local wine had come to, Gérard and Catherine Lambert teamed up with Olivier Varichon to buy back the Royal Seyssel label and recreate the wine that was once so renowned. The wines of Seyssel indulge in the same traditional methods used for Champagne, and take it a step further by aging for at least three years before disgorgement.
Eastern France is home to several fascinating wine regions climbing Alpine foothills and nestled in picturesque valleys in the heart of the mountains. Defined by their geographic isolation and cool climates, they have by and large preserved their traditions and indigenous grape varieties. It is no surprise, then, that Savoie, the Bugey, and the Hautes-Alpes are turning out striking wines that beautifully reflect the extreme terrain from which they are born.
Fifteen or twenty years ago, there was little buzz about the wines of Savoie, the Alpine region hugging the Swiss and Italian borders. In fact, most wines from Savoie were some combination of overcropped, thin, searingly acidic, and painfully rustic; even the best examples rarely made it out of the local mountain resorts, where they were served as an après-ski to wash down many a melty croque-monsieur.
But all that has changed, and today Savoie produces a number of top-quality wines in all styles, from simple thirst-quenchers to wines of substantial gravity. Kermit sought out some of these wines early in his career, having imported the spritzy, mineral whites of Apremont and Chignin in the late 1970s.
With vineyards at the foot of the Alps that sometimes reach higher elevations, Savoie is defined by its mountain-influenced climate and extremely rocky terrain, with abundant limestone. Thanks to a diversity of indigenous grape varieties, quality-oriented growers with the choicest parcels—steep and well-exposed—can craft anything from crisp, low-alcohol whites from Jacquère to deep, gamey reds from Mondeuse. More serious and age-worthy whites are made from Altesse as well as Bergeron, the local name for Roussanne, which the Romans planted on the slopes of Chignin around the same time as they introduced it to the Rhône Valley.
Savoie’s diversity of styles and distinct sub-regions, from Chignin to Arbin to Seyssel, makes it a captivating region for the thirsty explorer. There is no better place to look for brisk mountain refreshment.
The Bugey is a distinct region located in the Ain département, just west of Savoie and south of the Jura. Its vineyards sit on steep limestone foothills, a striking setting where small family domaines craft delightfully bright, fresh wines that largely fly under the radar. The Bugey is home to a diversity of grapes and styles—white, red, rosé, and sparkling—including the unique semi-sweet sparklers from the cru Cerdon, which blend Gamay and Poulsard for what is surely France's most seductive rosé.
South of Savoie, between the Alpine city of Gap and the French-Italian border, lies the tiny Hautes-Alpes region. Reaching up to 1,000 meters above sea level, its small vineyard plots flank the Durance River as it descends from high in the Alps. The chilly Alpine climate features some dry, warming Mediterranean influence, and numerous grape varieties are permitted within the region's sole IGP zone, including the native Mollard. This is heroic viticulture at its most awe-inspiring.
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Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch
Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol
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