Domaine des Ardoisières - Vin des Allobroges Améthyste 2022

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

This estate, launched in 1998 under the leadership of Michel Grisard, brought two hillsides back into production. The ambitious project involved 450 plots and 250 families. The entire operation is organic and produces wine under the Vin-des-Allobroges PGI designation, as it was unable to secure support from the Savoie appellation. Today, the 18 hectares managed by Brice Omont—who has just acquired an additional six hectares in Saint-Jean-de-la-Porte and Apremont—constitute a leading estate in the region. The wines are among the most expensive.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

Amethyst is a blend of Persan and 30% Mondeuse. The nose offers subtle smoky notes with a pronounced spicy character, featuring pepper and juniper berries. On the palate, it is rich, refined, and elegant, with lovely complexity.

About the estate:

The estate was born out of the replanting project undertaken in 1998 by Michel Grisard on the Cevins hillside, a 6-hectare terraced plot of mica schist between Albertville and Moutiers. Brice Omont, an agricultural engineer from Champagne, joined the team in 2003 to assist Grisard. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to the project and has been at the helm of the estate—which now spans 16 hectares—since 2008. Biodynamic viticulture here is a heroic endeavor (slopes can reach 70%); yields are very low, and the wines are primarily made from co-planted and blended grape varieties. The result is often admirable: the wines display great finesse and originality, further distinguishing themselves with age. The aging process is sometimes prominent in the expression of young wines upon opening; it is important to know this, as aeration releases their full expression. Améthyste complements the Persan with Mondeuse; the Argile cuvées (from the Saint-Pierre-de-Soucy hillside) blend Jacquère, Chardonnay, and Mondeuse Blanche for the white, and Gamay, Mondeuse, and Persan for the red; Schiste is composed of Jacquère, Mondeuse Blanche, Roussanne, and Pinot Gris. Only Quartz is a single-varietal wine, made from Altesse. If there is one estate that epitomizes the Savoyard quality renaissance and its ambition, it is this one.