Les Vigne de Paradis, Savagnin from Vin des Allobroges, Haut-Savoie, France 2020

Producer: Les Vigne de Paradis by Dominique Lucus

Grapes: Savagnin

Where: Vin des Allobroges, Haut-Savoie 

Country: France

Taste: Medium bodied white wine with creamy tropical fruits, florals, green apple, and honeysuckle. 

Vibes with: roasted chicken with lemon sauce

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Additional Info:

Certified Biodynamic

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Dominique Lucas hails from a family of Burgundian winemakers – he is the 5^th generation – who own a small estate outside of Pommard. After completing oenology school, he opted out of returning to the family estate simply because he did not want to work within the strict oversight of the AOC, choosing instead to settle in the Haut Savoie (in and around the AOC Crépy to be exact) in 2008. Though his family’s history is steeped in Burgundian ways, you won’t find much of this influence in his cellar. Dominique vinifies his grapes in an array of different amphorae, barrels, and concrete eggs – no doubt a hint at his close friendship with Dominique Belluard who lives about an hour away in Ayse. Fermentations occur naturally and the only addition to the wines is a bit of sulphur at bottling.

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Just outside the small village of Ballaisons, on slopes overlooking Lake Geneva (on the French side of the border they call it Lac Léman), Dominique farms 10 hectares (2.5 of them in Burgundy in the Haute Côte de Beaune and Pommard, more on that later) of certified biodynami) vines planted in rich yellow marl and granite soils with a limestone base, and some silex stones on the surface. His vines are separated into 27 parcels of different soil composition, each of which is harvested by hand (he says it takes 2.5 months to harvest here as Chasselas takes so long to ripen), and vinified separately. He is deeply committed to Chasselas, and has also added tiny parcels of Savagnin, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay. These are not old vines, but in the hands of this careful winemaker they are capable of producing wines of depth and complexity.