Chevallier Bernard Roussette de Savoie 2021 75cl

Tasting Note

Made from the Altesse grape, indigenous to Savoie, this is bright, honeyed with some rounder fruit. A lovely bright wine with some apricot, peach and pear coming off. A thicker palate with a prickle of spice.

Producer

Chantal Chevallier met Jean-Pierre Bernard at the Lycée in Beaune. She originates from Savoie, whilst he was raised in the Beaujolais. Prior to 1996, Chantal worked as a vineyard consultant in the Beaujolais, whilst Jean-Pierre ran a négociant business in the region. Chantal’s parents Marcel and Francis, had moved from mixed farming in 1970 to specialise in vineyards, selling all their crop to a local négoce, which formed the business that Chantal and Jean-Pierre inherited in 1996.

They took over the eight hectares of vines in Jongieux and within a couple of years, they had built the vineyard holdings up to twelve hectares. When their sole customer then stopped buying, they switched to bottling their own wines and began slowly building up a core list of private clients. They built a new cellar in 2004 and extended this further in 2014.

In 2016, their son, Antoine, joined the operation, after completing his studies in Mâcon. By then, they had become the first domaine in the Savoie to be HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementable) certified. Today, they work thirteen hectares in the commune of Jongieux. There are two hectares of Altesse, with 0.75 planted in the cru of Marestel, plus a similar amount of Mondeuse, with the balance made up of Jacquère and Gamay. They have a modest planting of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, grown in Billième, just to the south of Jongieux, used in their tiny production of Crémant de Savoie. Everything on the domaine is hand-harvested.

_{Country: France | Region: Savoie | Alcohol: 13% | Grapes: Altesse | Family Producer}