2023 Jean Vullien Roussette de Savoie ‘Altesse’

100% sustainably grown Altesse hand harvested from south-facing vines. The vineyard has both young and old vines and is planted on dark Jurassic limestone and black marl base with a pebbly topsoil layer of scree (degraded limestone fragments that have accumulated over time from Massif des Bauges slopes above). Fully destemmed; fermented and aged in stainless steel. 

This is a really fun, easy drinking medium bodied white that has surprisingly complexity should you care to look. Delicate aromas of stone fruit, white flowers, honey and chalk lead into a palate that is much more flavorful than the nose suggests. I tasted flavors reminding me of lemon pith, ripe apple, crisp pear, chamomile tea and a distinctive almond nuttiness. Finishes very dry, with a pronounced racy Alpine acidity and a bit of a salty note.

While this alpine area of eastern France may be better known for skiing than viticulture, a cadre of Savoyard vignerons are producing excellent wines. The region’s best come from a boomerang-shaped string of hillside villages between Chambéry and Albertville (site of the 1992 Winter Olympics) called the Combe de Savoie at an altitude of 1000’. Domaine Vullien is in the commune of Fréterive, 80 miles from Lyon, and about 50 miles from the highest mountain in the Alps, Mont Blanc.

Son and grandson of Savoyard winegrowers, Jean Vullien created his own farm in 1973 with Jeannine, his wife. Their two sons, David and Olivier, joined them in 1998 and 1999. David and Olivier now manage the farm, tending to 40 hectares (98 acres) in the villages of Chignin, Montmélian, Arbin, St-Jean de la Porte, and their hometown of Fréterive. The grapevines grow in a calcareous soil made of scree, and the grapes are picked by hand.