Savoie Fare: Father & Son Team Jean-Noël and Thomas Blard Make Distinctive and Immediately Appealing Wines from Rare, Local Varieties in This Mountainous French Alpine Region 7-Bottle Sampler Pack $214

Italy is one giant vineyard, cuff to heel, but in France, wine regions are like fireflies in a midnight garden; they light up isolated corners. The brightest fireflies command most of the attention, of course, and as a result, the highest price points. But Savoie—in the far eastern part of France where the Alps spill over from Italy and Switzerland—is one of most remarkable of the glimmers.

The White Stuff: A Golden Opportunity

According to Wink Lorch, an avid skier and arguably Savoie’s most vocal champion, the development of the post-war ski industry represented a turning point for the region’s popularity: “This created new customers for its wines, of which very little get exported. Even so, up until the 1970s, there were hardly any vine-growers who lived solely from their vines.”

Reconquering the Slopes

Over the past twenty years, however, a new wave of independent vignerons has been boosted by organizations dedicated to preserving the singular grape varieties of the region, and Savoie has finally begun to come into its own.

Alpine wines have a crunchy sizzle and a cool sappiness unlike wine from anywhere else. Not only that, but the predominant grapes don’t show up on many other radars, so the unique textures commingle with a whole new flavor profile to surprise and delight the palate.

For the historically inclined, Savoie was the point where Hannibal crossed the Alps en route to Rome; for vinophiles, Savoie encompasses two main sub-appellations—Bugey, with 1250 acres of vines and Vin de Savoie, or simply Savoie AOP, which includes Roussette de Savoie and Roussette du Bugey. There are also 17 Vin de Savoies Crus and four Roussette de Savoie Crus, whose name may appear on labels. Most Savoie vineyards are planted on steep, south facing slopes, where favorable sunlight exposure and excellent drainage make for perfect ripening conditions despite the cold continental climate. The presence of lakes Bourget and Geneva, as well as the upper Rhône River, further moderate the climate. Most Vin de Savoie vineyards are found on limestone-based soils, which is adept at storing heat during the day and reflecting it back onto the vines at night.

Wines That Refresh Like Mountain Air

Metaphors linking wine to its place of origin are the stuff of poetry, but they’re also the foundation of terroir. Among the most common descriptors of high-altitude wine is ‘refreshing’ which is an offhand way of saying that they tend to be lower in alcohol and higher in acidity than valley wines. These acids are often the end result of the cool mountain air which they resemble, giving distinct, cleansing mineral characteristics to the wine with citrus and herbs rather than jammy fruit.

Managing Mountain Acidity While Keeping It Light

That said, it is sometimes a challenge for winemakers to reign in mountain-borne acid and to keep it from running away with the profile. Tart is acceptable—sour is not. Without delving into too much chemistry, the predominant acids found in wines are tartaric, malic, citric and succinic, and all but the last occur naturally in grapes—succinic acid is produced by yeast during fermentation. In areas where long hang-times for grape bunches to develop sugars and tame acidity are not possible in the mountains, and winemakers will occasionally resort to artificially manipulating the juice, the must, or as a last resort, the finished wine.

These are not wines we embrace at Elie’s, preferring those that display natural balance, favoring the expression of terroir over excessively extracted fruit with high sugar levels. Adjusting acid rather than preserving it defies one of winemaking’s oldest adages: ‘Good wine is made in the vineyard, not in the cellar.’

The wines of Savoie (even the reds) tend be light and somewhat playful on the palate, filled with alacrity and crackle and with correspondingly low alcohol levels to match an ethereal mountain finesse. Yet, we have found many wines of Blard & Fils that seek to take traditional Savoie varietals to the next level, busting through the clichéd ‘Ski & Raclette’ ceiling to create sophisticated wines suitable for the most refined tables.

Seven-Bottle Sampler Pack $214

The wines in this 7-Bottle Sampler Pack represent one of Savoie’s icons and iconoclasts, Thomas Blard, who has taken the management reins from his father Jean-Noël. They represent the wide array of native grapes and their associated flavor profiles that are typical of this hinterland of marvels.

Setting the (Appellation) AOP Scene: Savoie & Roussette de Savoie

Located in the foothills of the vast Alpine ranges of Switzerland and Italy, Savoie AOP grows grapes at altitudes between 800 and 1800 feet. Savoie’s 11,300 acres of scattered vineyards are responsible for less than 0.5% of the wine produced in France, and of the 3 millions of wine made in Savoie every year (compare this to Bordeaux’s 158 million), only about 8% of it is consumed outside the appellation. Although even the highest vineyards are at foothill-elevation, the region is distinctly alpine, with towering white-capped mountains and pristine lakes dominating the surrounding terrain: Mont Blanc, France’s tallest peak at 15,000 feet, has a Savoie zip code. The vineyards are adapted to this environment, growing occasionally on 80-degree slopes. Ranging from rocky subsoil to sand (sometimes in the same vineyard) the Savoie terroir supports 23 different grape varieties.

A large portion of western Savoie falls under the sub-appellation Roussette de Savoie. Encompassing four Cru communes—Frangy, Marestel, Monterminod and Monthoux—Roussette wines are dry and made from the Altesse grape, here is called ‘Roussette.’ The name is a reference to the reddish tint that the grape acquires before harvest.

In the past, Chardonnay made up to half the content in Roussette bottlings, but the practice was outlawed in 1999.

Domaine Blard et Fils
Abymes, Apremont, Arbin, Roussette de Savoie

Apremont is perhaps the best known white wine Cru in Savoie. Surrounding the tiny village of Apremont, just south of Chambéry, the vines make up one of the most southerly Crus in the department. Apremont wines are made predominantly from the local Jacquère grape and are typically light and dry with floral, mineral characters.

In part, Blard & Fils is hard at work changing preconceptions about this terroir.

Jean-Noël and Thomas Blard are a father/son team who has taken their family domain to new quality heights while moving steadily toward fully organic and natural viticulture. In the 1990’s, Jean-Noël became one of the first vignerons in the appellation to diversify into Pinot Noir, and was also eager to raise the quality bar on Jacquère and Mondeuse—the latter by aging in neutral oak for a minimum of two years. With 25 acres under Blard control, grassed over and fertilized naturally, the Blards use a technique known as ‘intercep’ to remove unwanted greenery before finishing the job by hand.

Jean-Noël and Thomas Blard, Domaine Blard & Fils

Five generations of Blard have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat: In 1248, the side of Mont Granier (one of the major formations of the Savoie’s Chartreuse Massif) collapsed, and a wave of boulders and scree crushed the landscape below, forever changing the soil structure. Apremont means ‘bitter mountain’ and Abymes means ‘ruin’ and as a result of the natural upheaval, it is today it is considered to be the best place in the Savoie (and by extension, all of France) to grow Jacquère.

Altesse: Her Highness’ s Balancing Act

Nowhere in the world does Altesse reign as regally as in Roussette de Savoie, an AOP which has adopted the grape’s nickname ‘Roussette’ as its own. Late to ripen, and turning pink near harvest, the variety produces small grapes with a tight-bunch structure. Its most significant success is as a stand-alone varietal (chiefly in Roussette de Savoie and Roussette du Bugey), but it is also permitted as a minor blending component in the Jacquère-predominant Vin de Savoie wines.

The most likely origin theory is that Altesse is indigenous to the southern shores of Lake Geneva since it shares a close genetic link to the western Swiss workhorse Chasselas. Altesse is perfectly suited to the mountainous terroir around the western Alps in Savoie, and retains a high level of acidity while developing characteristic flavors of bergamot, hazelnut and almond. Such characteristics make it ideal for the production of sparkling wines as well and, consequently, Altesse is included in the region’s Crémant de Savoie wines and the sparkling Seyssel wines. Still Altesse wine is sometimes aged in oak and can age in bottle for up to five years.

 1  Blard & Fils, 2020 Roussette de Savoie ‘Altesse’ ($27) WHITE
100% Altesse from Abymes, from vines that are 35 years old. As always, Thomas Blard ferments naturally, with 20% of the juice seeing skin contact for 10 days. Aged on the lees for 10 months before bottling, the wine presents a terrific nose of green grass, salt, lemon and ripe apricot. The palate follows with green tea, lime zest, and herbs behind an exhilarating, Chablis-like texture.

Jacquère: Salinity Comes to Mind

Jacquère’s pedigree is 100% Français, and specifically Savoyard—at least, it’s impossible to find significant plantings outside the shadow of Mont Granier in the villages of Apremont and Abymes. The wines have characteristic cool-climate acidity vines and they write the book on the classic descriptors ‘mountain fresh’ and ‘alpine clean.’ Leaning toward the herbaceous with showers of freshly cut grass, green apples and pears, Jacquère is usually best when consumed young, while it still displays clean minerality and lively citrus palate.

It’s a high yielding vine, something that does not always lend itself to high quality. Since the 1980s, an attention to wine made from limited yields has resulted in wines with considerably more depth and weight, showcasing the region’s potential.

2  Blard & Fils ‘Cuvée Thomas’, 2021 Vin de Savoie Apremont ($29) WHITE
Cuvée Thomas is a blend of several different Jacquère parcels where vines are between 36 and 120 years old. Grown on clay/limestone soils seasoned with blue silex, the grapes are fermented on native yeast and aged ‘sur lie’ for nine months prior to bottling. The wine shows a delicate fresh almond bouquet above a foundation of crisp apricot and peach, with a mineral-driven palate that expresses textbook Jacquère salinity.

3  Blard & Fils ‘Alpin’, Crémant de Savoie Brut ($32) SPARKLING WHITE
50-year old Jacquère (60%), Chardonnay (20%) and Pinot Noir (20%) vines from an ideally exposed south-east facing vineyard, the base wine was aged for eight months in a combination of barrels and vats; once bottled, this Brut-nature zero-dosage sparkler sees an additional 24 to 36 months aging. Disgorged January 2022.

Malvoisie: Old Texts Misnomer

Lesson one is offered by INAO, the organization that defines appellations in France: Malvoisie does not belong to the Malvasia family, which produces many forgettable wines throughout the Mediterranean, including Pinot Grigio. Instead, it is Frühroter, a cousin to Austria’s famous Grüner Veltliner. It resembles Pinot Gris on the vine, and since Malvoisie was not, until recently, approved for Savoie, many growers simply labeled their Malvoisie ‘Pinot Gris.’

The second lesson comes from Thomas Blard himself: “Our Malvoisie is the real deal; Frühroter Veltliner and never Pinot Grigio.”

Frühroter Veltliner wines tend to be somewhat herbaceous with light lemony characters and often a note of almonds. It is an early ripening grape susceptible to frost, which accounts for the prefix ‘früh’, which means ‘early’ in German.

4  Blard & Fils ‘Monemvasia’, 2019 Vin de Savoie ($32) WHITE
Thomas Blard does not make ‘Monemvasia’ every year; it is entirely dependent on the success of the harvest. Instead, in some years, Thomas and Jean-Noël do a sweet wine from the grape using ‘passerillage,’ the technique of drying the grapes in ambient air to concentrate sugars.

2019’s ‘Monemvasia’ is dry. It originates from 10-year-old vines from three different parcels with a mix of clay and limestone soils where elevations average 1200 feet. The wine, which shows delicate cucumber, Meyer lemon, and crisp mineral tones, was vinified in stainless steel tanks and aged 12 months in stainless and from Crémant.

Mondeuse Noire: Savoie’s Most Historic Variety

Mondeuse Noire, commonly known simply as Mondeuse, is a grape with a distinctive personality. Having likely originated in eastern France, probably in or close to the region it now calls home, Savoie, it was once thought that Mondeuse was identical to the northern Italian grape Refosco as they both share similar botanical characteristics and flavor profile. DNA analysis has shown that they are separate varieties, while the same analysis revealed that Mondeuse is not a color mutation of Mondeuse Blanche, but is either its parent or offspring. The significance of this is that Mondeuse Blanche is one of the parents of Syrah, making Mondeuse Noire the grandfather of Syrah or half-brother to Syrah—something to keep in mind while tasting.

Like Syrah, Mondeuse offers violets, candied red fruit, dark berries, black pepper and spice enveloped in raspberry, blueberry, blackberry and plum with a bitter cherry and peppery finish.

 5  Blard & Fils, 2020 Vin de Savoie Arbin ‘Mondeuse Noire’ ($34) RED
The Blard winery is actually in the Apremont region of France but they are leasing some 50-year-old Mondeuse vines in Arbin. Grown in clay and limestone soils, there is a pronounced iron-rich mineral note to the nose, along with red fruit and a little green apple carrying through. Somewhat lacy on the palate but with grip.
 

Pinot Noir: Ripens Well On Steep Slopes

Though it makes up less than 7% of total Bugey plantings, Bugey is still the spiritual home for Burgundy’s red wine standby, and is the only legally allowable grape in red Bugey Cru Manicle. Manicle whites, like Burgundy, are made from Chardonnay. Manicle’s zone covers a small, south facing mountain slope on the southern apex of the Jura mountain range—a unique aspect that means it can be seen for miles to the south. The calcareous slopes of these southern extremities of the Jura Mountains offer an excellent environment for grape growing. This combines with the sunny aspect and good natural drainage of the landscape. The steep slopes of the Manicle Cru vineyards optimize sunshine exposure during the growing season. High altitude Pinot Noir sports fresh red fruit and seductive tannins; featured flavors are rose, raspberry, sour cherry, anise and paprika.

 6  Blard & Fils ‘Pierre Emile’, 2020 Vin de Savoie ‘Pinot Noir’ ($32) RED
Considered by critics to be among the best examples of this varietal in Savoie, the wine shows gaminess behind its elegant cranberry mantle with hints of iron, forest floor, cassis, wild strawberry and violet. The acidity remains at the forefront and will be tamed with a bit more bottle time; the tans are elegant, silky and integrated.

AOPs Bugey and Bugey-Cerdon: The Sparkling Lightness of Being

Bugey, with its particular focus on sparkling wine, combines all the best grape-growing elements of mountainous eastern France. It’s found close to the border with western Switzerland and the city of Geneva and covers the southern limits of the Jura mountain range; the Rhône river loops around the southern end of Bugey before flowing south to the famous vineyards of the Rhône.

The majority of Bugey vineyards surround the town of Belley with another cluster farther north, somewhat contiguous with the vineyard area of the sparkling Bugey-Cerdon. While not technically connected under French wine law, Bugey is often grouped together with Savoie due to the both geographical proximity and the wine styles produced. As in Savoie, the best Bugey sites are on the south-facing slopes where the combination of cool subalpine air, sunshine and free draining limestone soils provides the best chance for the grapes to achieve optimal ripeness.

Chardonnay is the principal grape found in Bugey and must make up at least 70% of Bugey still white wines. Smaller portions of Aligoté, Altesse, Pinot Gris and Jacquère are permitted in the blend, and the sparkling wines may have larger portions of Jacquère and Mondeuse Blanche, known as Molette. Bugey reds are made from Gamay, Pinot Noir and Savoie’s characteristic Mondeuse. Rosé wine is usually made from Gamay and/or Pinot Noir.

Sparkling white Bugey is made mainly from Chardonnay, Jacquère and/or Molette, while the reds and rosés are principally Gamay and/or Pinot Noir.

Domaine Renardat-Fâche
Bugey-Cerdon

Like many of the best estates in France, Domaine Renardat-Fâche is a multi-generational concern that traces its roots back to the Second World War, Léon Renardat and his wife Cécile, with the help of a local winegrowers, began to produce Cerdon sparkling wine using the ancestral method—a technique that avoids added yeasts or sugars. In 1974, the couple’s son Alain returned to the estate after his studies in Beaune. In 1996 , Elie, Alain’s eldest son, joined his father in the company and continued to develop the family business. This included obtaining an Ecocert FR-BIO-01 organic farming certification in 2012.

Elie Renardat, Domaine Renardat-Fâche (Courtesy of Privacy Glass)

Located around the village of Mérignat in the foothills of the Jura massif between Lyon and Geneva, the vines are grown on clay/limestone soils, some of them dating back three of the family’s nine generations.

 7  Domaine Renardat-Fâche, 2023 Bugey Cerdon ($28) SPARKLING ROSÉ
79% Gamay and 21% Poulsard from 32 organically-grown acres in high, rolling, wooded and steep hills of rocky clay-limestone soils. The fruit is harvested by hand, then gently pressed and naturally fermented at very cold temperatures in steel tanks. As is the standard in the ancestral method, the wine is bottled while fermentation is ongoing, producing the effervescence.

Setting the (Country Wine) IGP Scene: Vin des Allobroges

IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) is the European Union-wide name the category once called Vin de Pays, the ‘country wines’ of old. Certain wines from parts of the Savoie and Haute-Savoie region are not entitled to be labeled under the AOP name even if they hail from the same boundaries as Vin de Savoie, Roussette de Savoie or Seyssel. This category focuses on geographical origin rather than style and tradition, and gives winemakers greater stylistic freedom than AOP rules.

Domaine des Ardoisières
The Valley of Tarentaise

Tarentaise vineyards pride themselves as being the first ones in France (if you’re coming from Italy); they sit slightly north of the 45th parallel and occupy the south-facing slopes of the Tarentaise Valley, where soils are composed of schist and ardoise. The area is on the comeback trail, reflecting a self-sufficient agricultural society that started to decline around 60 years ago, leaving behind much fallow land. From the 5000 or so vineyard acres that dotted the area during the first half of the 20th century, not many remain today, and those that do are maintained by a small number of diehard wine growers.

In 2005, Brice Ormont left the rolling hills of his native Champagne to make wine in the shadow of Mont Blanc. Domaine des Ardoisières was created in 1998 by the iconic grower Michel Grisard; Brice Ormont took over upon Grisard’s retirement. The vineyard was planted on slopes up to 60% in grade with local grape varieties like Jacquère, Mondeuse, Altesse, and Persan. So steep is the region that Ormont claims that it receives two hours less sunlight per day; an hour in the morning and another in the evening.

Brice Omont, Domaine des Ardoisières

“You’d think that ripening grapes would be a problem but this is not the case,” Ormont insists. “Seven of our acres face the rising sun in the east and seven more face the setting sun in the west, with the east-facing vineyards reaching incredibly high temperatures of up to 120°F during the day when the sun bounces off the schist rock and magnifies the temperature. During summer the working day stops at 1 p.m. as working these south-facing slopes in the afternoon is physically impossible.”

Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc: Mellifluous When Young, Profoundly Delicious with Age

Gamay is grown throughout Savoie and Bugey—it is the most widely planted red variety in the region, covering about 14% of the AOP vineyards. As an early budding grape, it presents yearly challenges to an alpine climate, however, and the success of the harvest in any given season depends not only on the weather, but on the age of the vines and the skill of the producer. It is a favored red in Chautagne, in whose terroir it expresses a profile of cinnamon, spices, raspberry, strawberry and pepper.

Domaine des Ardoisières ‘Argile’, 2019 IGP Vin des Allobroges ‘St-Pierre de Soucy’ ($45) RED
A blend of 80% Gamay and 20% Persan from 40-year-old vines grown on slate in Saint-Pierre-de-Soucy, ‘Argile Rouge’ is the rare wine that manages to present both delicacy and saturation at the same time. The nose is slightly smoky, with a touch of white pepper and red bramble; the fruit notes become more pronounced on the palate, which is bright with red currant and pomegranate. The true minerality of the mountain terroir shows up at the finish.

Persan: A Deserved Renaissance

Persan is the poster-child grape for a wonderful variety that fell out of favor with growers, due in part to its susceptibility to fungal disease in damp weather. Among those in the know, who are willing to work with this fault, it is highly prized. Persan seems to have originated in the Maurienne Valley and was presumed extinct until it was rediscovered being grown by some local Savoie viticulturists who use it primarily as a blending grape. Alone, it produces age-worthy reds with a strong aromatic profile and in assemblages, this is what it brings to the table.

Domaine des Ardoisières ‘Améthyste’, 2018 IGP Vin des Allobroges ‘Cevins’ ($99) RED
Biodynamically-grown Persan (60%) and Mondeuse Noire (40%) from the steep monopole Cevins with full southern exposure and a terroir of schist and mica. Yields are restricted to an average of only 20hl/ha, following which the grapes were whole-bunch fermented on native yeasts before spending 18 months in neutral oak. The flavor profile may be likened to a Côte-Rôtie with some of heavy notes replaced by the airy freshness of mountain wine; stone, raspberry and a touch of pepper to balance the bright salinity of the finish.

Notebook …

Climate Change: A Double-Edged Sword

“There is nothing constant but change.” Heraclitus, 500 BCE

It’s not likely that the Greek philosopher had Savoie wine industry in mind when he made his prophetic statement, but even in his time, viticulture depended almost entirely on the weather. And even then (and in every vintage since), the climate has been subject to gradual shifts, some more dramatic than others. Thomas Jefferson, who lived during the Mini-Ice Age of the eighteenth century was unable to grow vinifera grapes in his famed Monticello vineyards. Today, they thrive there.

In Savoie, where the threat of freezing temperatures early in the season and harsh storms in the fall haunts every vintage, there are some obvious upsides to warmer springs, hotter, drier summers and more temperate falls across the region.

But it’s a double-edged sword, since along with the extra balm comes unpredictable hailstorms, and although spring frosts may lessen on the whole, those that do hit seem to redouble in intensity. It doesn’t take more than a couple of these before a vineyard cannot recover. This doesn’t even touch on the potential threat to the ski industry, one of Savoie’s biggest draws and a steady source for wine customers.

Winemakers in Savoie feel somewhat helpless in the face of the climate—a plight of the profession since the days of Heraclitus. Innovation, which has saved the day throughout history, will find a way. In Savoie, a new generation is focused on sustainability and it is a start, but the hard truth is that marginal appellations Like Savoie are having to adapt and modify systems and farming practices that have been in place for centuries.

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Posted on 2024.09.23 in France