Notify me
Bugey-Cerdon “La Cueille”
Patrick BottexOne morning I showed up to taste at Marcel Lapierre’s. Strewn around the cave, the parking lot, the dining room were empty bottles of Bugey-Cerdon. Party wine for the Gang of Four!
Here is a freshly bottled, fizzy, low-alcohol rosé that’s fun. Momentum is gathering as jaded palates discover the pleasures of Bugey-Cerdon.
—Kermit Lynch
Maeve's Pick
This wine is as festive as they come! Pink, bubbly, and softly sweet, I always keep a bottle (or two!) in my fridge to kick things off.
Wine Type: | sparkling |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 80% Gamay, 20% Poulsard |
Appellation: | Vin du Bugey |
Country: | France |
Region: | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes |
Producer: | Patrick Bottex |
Winemaker: | Patrick Bottex |
Vineyard: | Planted between 1960 and 2010 , 5.66 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 8% |
More from this Producer or Region
2021 Chignin-Bergeron “Les Terrasses”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Grown on near-vertical limestone scree slopes, Bergeron reaches incredible heights here, yielding a blanc full of character and flavors of peach, tangerine, and pine resin.
2021 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
It has often been likened to a cross between Pinot Noir and Syrah: bright, elegant, and floral, with suggestions of wild fruit, blood, and minerals.
2020 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Côteau des Ducs”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Lychee and ripe citrus wrapped in beeswax. You might think there are a bunch of busy benevolent bees whiling away inside your glass.
2022 Chignin Blanc “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Few things are more satisfying as an apéritif than a chilled glass of this Alpine elixir made from 70-year-old vines.
2022 Savoie Chignin Pinot Noir
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
If any Pinot Noir on these pages is built for the Parisian bistro or Lyonnais bouchon, it is this one from the hills of Chignin, in Savoie.
2021 Hautes Alpes Blanc “Grains de Clotinaille”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Day 2: A remote Alpine blanc for jaded palates seeking new thrills
2015 Royal Seyssel
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
This bottle of Royal Seyssel had me Royally fooled into thinking I was enjoying a very pricey, very prestigious, vintage Champagne.
Bugey-Cerdon “La Cueille”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Its seductive deep pink glimmers in the glass, emanating ambrosial fragrances of alpine strawberries and roses.
2021 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Le Grand Rebossan”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Travel no further than Chignin, where the Quenard family bottles a Roussanne (dubbed Bergeron in these parts) that will exceed your wildest expectations.
Crémant de Savoie Brut Nature
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
January Club Bianco ~ A wonderfully dry, fresh, sparkling wine from one of the most beautiful regions of France.
About The Producer
Patrick Bottex
As a geographical crossroads between the Savoie, the Jura, Burgundy, and the Rhône, Bugey is one of the few regions where one can see both palm trees and snow within eyeshot. In La Cueille, Patrick and Catherine Bottex farm the limestone slopes above the Ain River. They have been working five hectares of land since 1991 and produce only a small quantity of their beautiful, intriguing sparkling wine. The resulting wine is delightfully refreshing with bright fruit, a beautiful rosé hue, and a touch of sweetness. Kermit had never heard of Bugey until Marcel Lapierre uncorked a beauty at one of his after-tasting parties. His best memory of drinking it, however, was from an ice chest at a hamburger barbecue on a beach in Hawaii.
About The Region
Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
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 occasionally climb to 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 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 Arbin to Seyssel to the Bugey (technically not a part of Savoie, but included here for convenience) makes it a fascinating region for the thirsty explorer. There is no better place to look for brisk mountain refreshment.
More from Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes or France
2021 Savoie Arbin Mondeuse “Terres Brunes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Chignin Blanc
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Vieilles Vignes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2020 Hautes Alpes Chasan-Chardonnay “Grains de Clotinaille”
Domaine Les Hauts Lieux France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Chignin Blanc “Vieilles Vignes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2013 Royal Seyssel MAGNUM
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Voie Royale”
Guillaume Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Le Grand Rebossan”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2020 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Côteau des Ducs”
André et Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Petit Royal
Les Caves de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2015 Royal Seyssel
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Savoie Chignin Pinot Noir
A et M Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Arbin Mondeuse “Terres Brunes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Chignin Blanc
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Vieilles Vignes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2020 Hautes Alpes Chasan-Chardonnay “Grains de Clotinaille”
Domaine Les Hauts Lieux France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Chignin Blanc “Vieilles Vignes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2013 Royal Seyssel MAGNUM
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Voie Royale”
Guillaume Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Le Grand Rebossan”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2020 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Côteau des Ducs”
André et Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Petit Royal
Les Caves de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2015 Royal Seyssel
Lambert de Seyssel France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Savoie Chignin Pinot Noir
A et M Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
When buying red Burgundy, I think we should remember:
1. Big wines do not age better than light wine.
2. A so-called great vintage at the outset does not guarantee a great vintage for the duration.
3. A so-called off vintage at the outset does not mean the wines do not have a brilliant future ahead of them.
4. Red Burgundy should not taste like Guigal Côte-Rôtie, even if most wine writers wish it would.
5. Don’t follow leaders; watch yer parking meters.
Inspiring Thirst, page 174