Domaines des Ardoisières - 'Silice' - Jacquère - IGP Vin des Allobroges, Savoie, FR - 2023

Satellite's Hot Take

There are not many Jacqueres that approach this level of perfection. It's as though they designed the ideal white wine and bottled it as silice. This wine, like so many of the Ardoisieres wines, is like drinking glavier water straight from the mounntain - it has that texture of a glacial stream - a feeling of chill beyond just the fridge - of minerals from deep in the mountainside translated to the grape and carried through to nourish you, delight the palate. This wine is bobbing for green apples in the mountain stream, it plays richer than its light body suggests, it gives so much. Let it love you! You'll have a hard time putting down the glass. Truly one of my favorite wines from one of my favorite wineries. I don't pick many favoirtes but the wines of Ardoisières stand out in a region of exceptional wines and legendary, if underexplored, producers. For me, Ardoisières free but honed expressions of their high mountain region are the ultimate in pleasure to be found in Savoie. Across the board - the wines age elegantly for their lean and very low alcohol yet structured frames - They give so much and they delight with a wide variety of cuisine. SLAKE ME OFF SOME RACLETTE, DAWG!

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Farming Sustainable, Organic (Ecocert), Biodynamic, Vegan Varietals 100% Jacquère Vineyards & Viticulture From three vineyards, totaling two hectares, in Apremont, old vines below Mont Granier. Vines planted on west facing slopes. Guyot and Cordon Royal training. Soils Schist and ardoise (a type of hard, black schist native to the region), mixed with clay Harvest & Vinification Only indigenous yeasts are used and no SO2 during vinification. Malolactic fermentation is not carried out systematically. 1/3 vinified in barriques (two to three years old), 2/3 in tanks. The wine is then aged for at least nine months with only one gram of sulfur used at bottling.

Notes on the Producer

From Domaine des Ardoisieres, it seems Mont Blanc is everywhere. The towering mountain watches over this small estate near the Swiss border from every angle, shaping the wines so expertly grown and made here.The domaine was planted during Roman times, then became overgrown with forest. A passionate group of supporters cleared the vineyard in 1998 and began piecing the steep terraces back together to create Domaine des Ardoisieres. Since 2005, Champagne native Brice Omont has taken over the winemaking and is now considered one of the most exciting producers in France. For the very first time, Brice’s wines are being imported to the United States.The domaine’s 17 acres of vineyards are planted on steep, rocky slopes high above the town of Freterive. The entire production is sourced from two single vineyard sites: Cevins and St. Pierre de Soucy. The domaine produces five different cuvées (three white, two red) using the area’s unique varietals, including Altesse, Jacquère, Mondeuse, Gamay and Persan. The domaine has employed biodynamic principles in the vineyard since the vines were planted. The reds are produced without any de-stemming, and all the wines are fermented with native yeasts.Brice’s wines are brilliantly unique, capturing the stony and mineral character of the vineyard terraces, and possessing an amazing crystalline purity. Drinking these wines from the side of Mont Blanc is like tasting freshly squeezed juice running off a glacier.