Chignin Vers Les Alpes, Jean-François Quénard 2023

Sitting pretty in to the sparkling air of the French Alps the region of Savoie is chock full of picture perfect vistas of snow-topped peaks, mountain meadows and some gorgeous vineyards. These vines cling to steep slopes, often painstakingly terraced, and it is in just such a location that Michel Quénard farms his 22 hectares of vineyards around the charming village of Chignin. In 1976 he joined his father at the domaine founded by his grandfather in the 1930s, and has now, in turn, been joined by his own sons, Guillaume and Romain. Together they work a domaine dominated by limestone scree, making wonderful wines from their plantings of bergeron (aka roussanne), jacquère, mondeuse, altesse, and pinot noir. The quality of their wines has earned them an international reputation in a region all too little known.

Part of their success is thanks to an unusually warm microclimate in their part of the commune, with a warming southerly exposure that gives their grapes the best chance of ripening in vineyard at this altitude and so close to the Alps. The steepness of the slopes demand hand-harvesting, and the white wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel for the most part, with the reds seeing some time in the large old barrels called foudres. The Anne de Biguerne cuvée is made from fruit picked from a single, one-hectare vineyard planted with old vines of around 65 years of age.