2022 ChevernyDomaine du Salvard
France | Loire
$22
Producers
Praise a high-quality sparkling wine by comparing it to Champagne and you risk sounding trite. That said, I will shamefully do just that and admit this bottle of Royal Seyssel had me Royally fooled into thinking I was enjoying a very pricey, very prestigious, vintage Champagne. Its méthode is the same as that of Champagne, though Royal Seyssel offers a unique blend of indigenous Altesse and Molette, and ages three years sur lattes. One sip had me curiously nostalgic for a traditional French breakfast tartine I once enjoyed, whose components of toasty baguette, salted butter, and glossy quince jelly were on full display and living harmoniously in my glass. I wanted the experience to never end.
Wine Type: | sparkling |
Vintage: | 2015 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 25% Altesse, 75% Molette |
Appellation: | Seyssel |
Country: | France |
Region: | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes |
Producer: | Lambert de Seyssel |
Winemaker: | Gérard Lambert, Olivier Varichon |
Vineyard: | 20-50 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 three to four years |
Farming: | Biodynamic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 12% |
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Seyssel
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Seyssel
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Crémant de Savoie
Patrick Bottex France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Bugey
André et Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Vin de Savoie
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Savoie
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.
André et Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Vin de Savoie
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Roussette de Savoie
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Crémant de Savoie
Patrick Bottex France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Bugey
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Savoie Chignin-Bergeron
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Savoie
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Seyssel
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Savoie Chignin
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Savoie
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Savoie
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Seyssel
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Savoie
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.
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
Many food and beverage cans have linings containing bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical known to cause harm to the female reproductive system. Jar lids and bottle caps may also contain BPA. You can be exposed to BPA when you consume foods or beverages packaged in these containers. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/bpa