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2019 Chignin “Vieilles Vignes”
A. & M. QuenardThe village of chignin is among Savoie’s top crus, and this family-run domaine—now headed by Guillaume Quenard, the fourth successive generation to tackle these daunting slopes—has a history of doing this terroir justice. Jacquère takes on an intensely mineral expression in these “soils” of lime-stone scree—rocks that have broken off the mountain over tens of thousands of years of erosion. This is particularly true of this cuvée from seventy-year-old vines that have set their roots deep into this stony pile of rubble. The nose is delightfully fruity with nectarine, peach, and citrus, along with a talc-like dusting of minerals. On the palate, you’ll find the same succulent fruit backed by bright acidity and a cool-climate snappiness as pure as melted snow. Few things are more satisfying as an apéritif than a chilled glass of this Alpine elixir.
—Dustin Soiseth
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Jacquère |
Appellation: | Vin de Savoie |
Country: | France |
Region: | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes |
Producer: | André & Michel Quenard |
Vineyard: | 4 ha, 70+ years |
Soil: | Limestone scree |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 12% |
More from this Producer or Region
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2021 Chignin-Bergeron “Les Terrasses”
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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”
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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.
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With notes of mixed black and red fruit and a spine of minerality, Quenard’s Gamay is crunchier, more aromatic, and more succulent than most bottles you’d find in Beaujolais.
2023 Chignin Blanc “Vieilles Vignes”
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Few things are more satisfying as an apéritif than a chilled glass of this Alpine elixir made from 70-year-old vines.
2021 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Le Grand Rebossan”
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Travel no further than Chignin, where the Quenard family bottles a Roussanne (dubbed Bergeron in these parts) that will exceed your wildest expectations.
2023 Roussette de Savoie “Les Craies”
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The wine is bone-dry but offers a wonderful nose of bergamot and honeysuckle, along with a zippy freshness supported by all the Alpine minerality you would expect from fruit grown in stony soils in the Alps.
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This Jacquère grown on Savoie’s limestone mountainsides may be the crispest beverage to ever grace your palate.
About The Producer
André & Michel Quenard
The Savoie is a picture of fairy-tale perfection: snow-capped peaks, rolling hills, and sparkling mountain streams. This idyllic region is where Michel Quenard farms twenty-two hectares of vineyards along the steep slopes around Chignin. His grandfather started the domaine in the 1930s. Though he slowly increased his vineyard holdings, he mostly sold off his wine. It wasn’t until 1960 that Michel’s father, André, began bottling under their own label. Michel joined the domaine in 1976. Today, he is joined by his sons, Guillaume and Romain. Their cuvées go beyond the simple “eclectic” that categorizes wines from Savoie; they are unique revelations that reflect the complexity of their terroir and the artistry of this master.
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
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Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
Let the brett nerds retire into protective bubbles, and whenever they thirst for wine it can be passed in to them through a sterile filter. Those of us on the outside can continue to enjoy complex, natural, living wines.
Inspiring Thirst, page 236