Domaine Carrel & Senger - Savoie Les Martyrs (Pinot Noir) 2024

Eugène Carrel’s estate was taken over by his son Olivier, who has been in partnership since 2022 with Thomas Senger, a thirty-something Parisian who cut his teeth at LVMH. While Olivier wanted to produce “the world’s greatest wine with elegance” on the terroirs of Jongieux and the Marestel cru, he had the passion but not quite the resources. Thomas arrived with significant investment capital (a new winery, wine tourism) and genuine expertise (marketing, pricing). Olivier is now assisted by Clémence Badoux and acquired temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks in 2023. The wine lineup is very well-crafted and designed to appeal to a wide audience. Ideas are flowing, and the estate is thriving.

A trusted name in the Savoy wine region, producing both white and red wines, this estate was founded by the Carrel family, who have been winemakers from father to son since 1830—spanning six generations. Specialized in the 1970s by Eugène Carrel and led by his son Olivier starting in 1994, the estate—with its 33 hectares situated on the steep slopes of Mont de la Charvaz and Mont du Chat—was taken over in 2022 by Thomas Senger, a young entrepreneur native to Savoie and a wine enthusiast.