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Domaine Dupasquier, Jongieux, Savoie

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AOC:  Savoie, Roussette de Savoie,  Cru Marestel
Varieties:  Jacquère, Altesse, Chardonnay, Gamay, Pinot Noir, Mondeuse
Viticulture:  Lutte Raisonée
Size: 15 hectares
Production:  7000 cases
Terroirs: Clay and limestone
David Dupasquier is a fifth generation winemaker at this ultra-traditional domaine.  He and his sister Veronique run the domaine, but their Father Noel is still very much involved in the vineyards and in the cellar.

The Dupasquier vineyards are located in a southwestern lobe of the Savoie, close to the Rhône Valley.  One drives through a large mountain called “Le Dent du Chat” to arrive at the domaine, and the terroir seems almost instantly to become more Rhône-ish on the western side of this tunnel. The town is called Aimavigne, and its most prestigious vineyard is the incredibly steep “Marestel” Cru (pronounced “mah-reh-tehl” no “s”). The vines benefit from steep, sun-drenched slopes, primarily limestone soil, and the cooling effects of Lake Bourget.  David works these vineyards with a tractor and by hand – the Marestel vines entirely by hand, as a good percentage of the best sites are too steep to work with a tractor.  Plowing is done once per year for every other row and David believes that the biodiversity this leaves in the vineyard is critical for the quality of wines.  Harvest is by hand and clusters are hand selected.
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The word “traditional” invariably gets used when Dupasquier’s wines come up in conversation.  There are many reasons for this, one being that the wines see quite a long period of aging in old, neutral barrel and in bottle before release.  In general, the Dupasquiers leave their wines in barrel on fine lees until just before the next year’s harvest. The wines then see another 18 month in bottle. In some other regions, this type of regimen might not be so unusual, but it certainly is in the Savoie, where the typical wine is fermented with added yeast and vinified quickly in stainless steel. This brings us to another aspect of the Dupasquier’s traditionalism.  All the wines are fermented with native yeast, and even in the coldest years, they don’t inoculate. 

The style of these wines absolutely reflects the place, as well as the vineyard and cellar work.  There’s a warmth and ripeness to the wines that calls the Rhône Valley to mind, yet with freshness, acidity, and cut reminiscent of the Savoie.  The whites are broad across the palate, the Jacquère more delicate, and Roussette richer, with Marestel the richest, also the most structured and age worthy.  The reds also show a level of ripeness that is extraordinary for the Savoie.  Gamay and Pinot Noir from Dupasquier have a gorgeous core of vivid, sweet red fruit and a textural harmony that speaks to their years of aging in barrel and bottle before release.  In our opinion the Dupasquier’s top red wine is their Mondeuse.  Like other great medium bodied, tannic varieties such as Syrah and Cabernet Franc, Mondeuse benefits from long aging in neutral barrel, which softens the tannins, integrating them with the rest of the wine’s deep, spicy aromas and flavors.


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WINES
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PERLES D'AIMAVIGNE NV 
I’ve found so much to love about wines from the Savoie region in eastern France. The latest is this sparkling wine, made largely of jacquère and chardonnay, with a little altesse as well. It’s bone-dry and lacy-fine, with lightly creamy flavors. The brother-sister team of David and Véronique Dupasquier is the fifth generation of the family to oversee this domaine, which also makes terrific still wines. Fortuitously, as Wink Lorch points out in her excellent book “Wines of the French Alps,” Aimavigne, the town where the estate is based, means “love the vine.” - Eric Asimov, Seeing 2021 Out With a Pop, a Pour and a Fizz

AOC Roussette de Savoie: "This separate appellation was granted in 1973 specifically for still white wines made from the Altesse grape variety. There are four sub-appellations, or crus, that may be appended to the name: Frangy (in Haute-Savoie); Marestel, Monthoux (west of Lac du Bourget), and Montrerminod (close to Chambery), all historically are associated with the Altesse variety. Until 1999 Roussette Savoie AOC wines without a specific designated area were able to blend Chardonnay (and theoretically Mondeuse Blanches, but in practive there was almost none planted) with Altesse, provided there was 50% of the latter. Today all Roussette de Savoie must be 100% Altesse with residual sugar in the finished wine limited to 8g/l." - Wink Lorch, Wines of the French Alps, 2019. 

ALTESSE ROUSSETTE DE SAVOIE 2017
6ha of Altesse total (5ha are in Marestel). They could technically release 5ha of Marestel if they wanted too, but instead they use about half and the remaining is picked parcels then declassify the rest to make the Savoie Altesse. 30-50% Roussette is fermented in big oak vs. Marestel is 100%clay-limestone soils, southwest facing hillsides, 45 years old vines, 11 months in foudre, gentle filtration, bottling at the estate in early September and then put on sale the following year.

MARESTEL 2017
"It’s not often you see seven-plus-year-old white wines in retail shops. This may be a tough bottle to find, but it’s an excellent example of how well these Savoie whites can age. Its aroma is not at all extravagant, yet it still smells like a bouquet of flowers or a cornucopia of fruits. It’s pure, balanced and stony, with years to go. Serve with Alpine cheeses or fresh seafood." - Eric Asimov, From Savoie, White Wines That Refresh Like Mountain Air. 

Whole grapes in the press in small tanks so as not to burst the berries, pneumatic pressing, alcoholic fermentation in vats with indigenous yeasts, settling, aging on fine lees in casks 11 months, gentle filtration, bottling at the estate in early September and then put on sale two years later. Limestone slope facing southwest, 45 years old vines.

JACQUERE 2018 
"40-80 yo vines. Ferment to 10.7-11% abv. They pick quite late, for ripeness, ageing on lees is more important than freshness. Elevage on the lees in cement fiber or stainless. They taste the lees to check if there is reduction and if so will rack the wines and add lees from a different vintage or get rid of some.

The taste is generous too. Good tension between fruit and acidity. It’s soooo good." - Kate, Chicago Sales Manager, July 2022. 

GAMAY 2018 
Whole cluster 18-24 days maceration. Some pump overs (no punch downs). Will keep free-run juice and
blend it together.

PINOT NOIR 2018 
100% Pinot Noir grown at high altitude with good sun exposure, which gives it maturity and allows it to retain a certain amount of freshness.
Harvesting is done by hand, as is the selection of the grapes, followed by spontaneous fermentation using only indigenous yeasts, and finally ageing in large, old, neutral barrels for a year, plus another period in the bottle.

MONDEUSE 2019 

ROSE 2019 
80% direct press Gamay 20% saignee Pinot noir.

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Carmel Valley, CA 93924
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