2023 Quenard Chignin Mondeuse "Vieilles Vignes", Savoie, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

100% Mondeuse from the Chignin village in the appellation of Savoie. Vines are 70 years old, grown on limestone and clay soils. The wine is aged for 1 year in old foudre. Mostly known and beloved for its white wines, the Savoie is also home to a noteworthy red grape called Mondeuse. Likely a relative of Syrah, Mondeuse thrives along the impossibly steep and scree-laden slopes of the pre-Alps, just down the road from France’s renowned ski mountains. For seventy years, the Quenards’ vines for this cuvée have clung to this stony rubble, enjoying great health and complete ripening courtesy of the slope’s quick draining, sunny southern exposure, and cool Alpine air currents.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Savoie is a picture of fairy-tale perfection: snow-capped peaks, green rolling hills, wildflowers, and cold, sparkling mountain streams. This idyllic region hugs the western Alps, where Michel Quenard and his family farm twenty-two hectares of vineyards along the steep, rocky slopes of the Coteau de Torméry around Chignin. The limestone scree that makes up this vineyard land, resulting from millions of years of erosion of the majestic peaks of the Massif des Bauges, lends great character to the wines produced here.

Michel’s grandfather started the domaine in the 1930s. Though he slowly increased the vineyard holdings, he also sold off most of his wine in bulk. It was not until 1960 that Michel’s father, André, began bottling under their own label. Armed with a degree in viticulture and enology from Beaune, Michel joined the domaine in 1976, expanding vineyard holdings and making improvements to the cellar. Today, he is joined by his son Guillaume. While they are far from the only Quenards in Chignin, they are certainly the most well-known—perhaps this is due to the severity of their terrain and the quality of wines it produces.

Despite the domaine’s proximity to the Alps, the vineyards enjoy a surprisingly warm microclimate with southern sun exposure. Fig and olive trees are also found among the vines, unusual for such a snowy region. There are twenty-one crus in the Savoie appellation, encompassing more than twenty permitted cépages—including several endemic varieties exclusive to Savoie. The Quenards’ vineyards are planted to some of the region’s best known, with a focus on Bergeron, Jacquère, Mondeuse, and Altesse. Michel and Guillaume bottle multiple cuvées, highlighting the region’s diversity of grape varieties and the different terroirs they farm. The stoniness of their vineyards expresses an alpine freshness and lively minerality in their wines. Their cuvées go beyond the simple “eclectic” that categorizes wines from the region; whether they are quaffed or savored, they are all unique revelations that reflect the complexity of their terroir and the fine artistry of these master vignerons