High On The Hill: Wines of Savoie & The Jura – Rouge

The estate of Prieuré Saint Christophe was established in the 1970s by Michel Grisard, who has since become a local legend. In 1994, he converted the domaine to biodynamics, which was still largely unknown at the time, working with incredibly low yields across the 6 hectares of white and red planted. In 2015, the Giachino brothers took over the vineyard, furthering the work of Grisard.

Prieuré Saint Christophe’s single red cuvée is from Mondeuse. It is a variety not seen in many other regions and has variations of both a blanc and noire—it’s often used as a blending grape with Pinot Noir and Gamay in Savoie to produce easy-drinking styles of wine. The ethos of Prieuré Saint Christophe is to produce wines with depth and complexity, to truly demonstrate the vineyards’ capabilities.

The grapes are macerated for up to 40 days in order to extract colour, tannin and flavour before fermentation using whole bunches. It then spends six months in vats before being transferred to barrels for at least a year; varying with the individuality of the vintage and how much time it requires to come together.

As with their white, this is a wine that can age beautifully while still fairly approachable in its youth. You’ll want to decant it prior to serving, with large glasses to better experience its full spectrum of flavours.

Like Prieuré Saint Christophe, Domaine des Ardoisières was also created by the legendary Michel Grisard. After being founded in 1998, Brice Ormont then joined the team in 2005, taking over the estate five years later. The domaine still embodies the founding principles of biodynamic viticulture and respect for the living world.

Argile Rouge is a blend of 65% Gamay, 25% Mondeuse Noire and 10% Persan. Mondeuse and Persan are both grapes very much at home in Savoie, commonly seen as blends rather than single variety expressions. As with all of their wines, Argile Rouge is naturally fermented. It spends 9 months in older oak, with minimal additions before bottling.

It’s designed with youthful approachability and will show even better with some decanting—30 minutes before serving to help the wine best express itself.

François Rousset-Martin first caught the wine-bug growing up in Burgundy, where his father was a microbiologist for the Hospices de Beaune. The family held a parcel of vines in the Jura which they regularly visited, so François eventually began vinifying with his father. Later, armed with an oenology degree and experience from the southern Rhône and Languedoc, he would return to his Jurassian roots and launch his eponymous winery in 2007.

François’ raison d’être is to gain a better understanding of the incredible terroirs that he works with, through minimal-intervention winemaking.

Cuvée PP Andre is a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Poulsard. 2018 represented the first expression in the three years he’s produced reds, in which he’s been able to use some whole-cluster in the fermentation, only because the stems were ripe enough with 2019 following suit. Trousseau’s earthy and slightly rustic flavours combine perfectly with the elegance of Pinot Noir, resulting in a delicate, fruit expressive and approachable light red.

Interestingly, its name holds somewhat of a dual meaning: while PP represents Pinot-Poulard, it also nods to Pépé—French for grandfather—having been influenced by his great-grandfather and subsequent generations in his style of winemaking.

Meanwhile, François continues to gain outstanding recognition for his range of both reds and whites, pushing boundaries and conventions.