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Bugey-Cerdon “La Cueille”
Patrick BottexIn an increasingly complex and ever-changing wine world, I have a soft spot for those who just keep things steady and simple. The Bottex family is literally the only vigneron family I know who make one single wine, have always made only one single wine, have no plans to expand, and make their one single wine ridiculously, deliciously well. No changes to the label nor to what’s inside the bottle, in at least the few decades I’ve been drinking it. No need to chase any fads when you’ve got something impeccable you can be proud of. This is a universally loved pink bubbly delight of candied strawberries and roses, always true and always exquisite. Icing on the cake is that it’s affordable, too.
—Chris Santini
Wine Type: | sparkling |
Vintage: | NV |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | 80% Gamay, 20% Poulsard |
Appellation: | 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% |
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2023 Roussette de Savoie “Les Craies”
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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.
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Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
Great winemakers, great terroirs, there is never any hurry. And I no longer buy into this idea of “peak” maturity. Great winemakers, great terroirs, their wines offer different pleasures at different ages.
Inspiring Thirst, page 312