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Sailing into Summer
Sailing into Summer
by Allyson Noman by Allyson Noman
2023 Chignin Blanc
2023 Chignin Blanc



Domaine Quenard

Guillaume Quenard

Sunset during harvest
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes | Savoie
Quenard’s bracing Alpine whites have long been favorites of the staff here at KLWM. I remember seeing a colleague post a photo of a bottle of Chignin while aboard a sun-drenched sailboat last year, and I thought, I would like to do that! The following weekend, I brought a bottle to a picnic at the Berkeley Marina—not quite a boat, but close enough. Most recently, I enjoyed a glass while watching the day turn slowly into dusk. We often tout Quenard’s wines as perfect après-ski, a nod to their idyllic mountain roots, but this aromatic bottling of Savoie’s Jacquère strikes me as distinctly apt for warm weather.
Redolent of summery white peach, it’s lush and perfectly tart, finishing with a chalky freshness that recalls the limestone soil in which it grows. Notes of white flowers—somewhere between jasmine and citrus blossom—evoke the turn of the season. I’m a fan of any bottle that’s versatile enough to go from boat, to picnic, to dinner table, and this blanc delivers. It has an energetic glow and goes with just about anything at the table—a canned sardine and green garden salad was a recent knock-out. And this delicious season with its long, lazy sunsets makes a good match for a cold glass all on its own.



Domaine Quenard

Guillaume Quenard

Sunset during harvest
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2023 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Jacquère |
Appellation: | Savoie |
Country: | France |
Region: | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes |
Producer: | André & Michel Quenard |
Winemaker: | Guillaume Quenard |
Vineyard: | 30-60 years, 4 ha |
Soil: | Limestone scree |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 11% |
More from this Producer or Region

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.

2023 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Les Roches Blanches”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
This medium-bodied white evokes peaches, honey, and pine resin. Perfect for winter nights and dishes like hearty, Savoie-inspired fish chowder.

2023 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.

Crémant de Savoie Brut Nature
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
A wonderfully dry, fresh, sparkling wine from one of the most beautiful regions of France.

2023 Savoie Les Abymes
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Les Abymes is the epitome of an Alpine white—an invigorating mineral lick of Jacquère, crackling with freshness and crystalline purity.

2021 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Voie Royale”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
The 2021 Voie Royale was aged entirely in foudre, and the result is an utterly distinctive, perfumed, and stony rouge evoking freshly pressed grapes, tart fruit, and violets.

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.

2021 Savoie Arbin Mondeuse “Terres Brunes”
France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
This red conveys loads of juicy, brambly berries with floral and gamey nuances.

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.

2022 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.
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
2021 Savoie Arbin Mondeuse “Terres Brunes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Vieilles Vignes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Chignin-Bergeron “Les Terrasses”
André et Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Hautes Alpes Blanc “Grains de Clotinaille”
Domaine Les Hauts Lieux France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Crémant de Savoie Brut Nature
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2020 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Côteau des Ducs”
André et Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Voie Royale”
Guillaume Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Hautes Alpes Blanc “Grand Pic”
Domaine Les Hauts Lieux France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2023 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Les Roches Blanches”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2023 Chignin Blanc “Vieilles Vignes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2023 Savoie Les Abymes
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Bugey-Cerdon “La Cueille”
Patrick Bottex France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Arbin Mondeuse “Terres Brunes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Vieilles Vignes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Chignin-Bergeron “Les Terrasses”
André et Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Hautes Alpes Blanc “Grains de Clotinaille”
Domaine Les Hauts Lieux France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Crémant de Savoie Brut Nature
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2020 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Côteau des Ducs”
André et Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2021 Savoie Chignin Mondeuse “Voie Royale”
Guillaume Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2022 Hautes Alpes Blanc “Grand Pic”
Domaine Les Hauts Lieux France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2023 Savoie Chignin-Bergeron “Les Roches Blanches”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2023 Chignin Blanc “Vieilles Vignes”
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
2023 Savoie Les Abymes
André & Michel Quenard France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Bugey-Cerdon “La Cueille”
Patrick Bottex France | Savoie, Bugey, Hautes-Alpes
Vintage Chart Mentality

Vintage Chart Mentality
Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch