Last November, I landed—literally—in Savoie, hitting the ground running with importer Bryan Garcia (who also taught our French Alps class in January).

It’s a stunning corner of Europe, defined by soaring mountaintops whose peaks disappear on cloudy days, and lush green valleys beneath. Depending on where your vineyard sits in this dramatic landscape, you’re either riding the edge of ripeness or basking in sun. Add their wild patchwork of soil types, and you’ve got a region that yields wines of both lift and power.

Many of the wines I tasted on that trip have now arrived. So we’re diving into the producers behind them, and sharing some photos from this special place. — Chris Leon

MATTHIEU CHEVILLARD

Visiting Matthieu is an experience. His holdings are scattered across Savoie’s most iconic terroirs—Apremont, Abymes, Porte Saint-Jean, to name a few—all certified Biodynamic. The farming stands out to anyone seeking out Savoie’s most dedicated growers. If his name rings a bell, it might be because in his early vintages, Matthieu sold fruit—famously to Ganevat—to help get the domaine off the ground. 

His cellar, crammed and low-ceilinged, tucked beneath his house in the village of Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny, is where he patiently crafts some of Savoie’s most compelling wines. They take years to emerge, but the results are stunning.

The view from Matthieu's home; in his tiny-but-mighty cellar.

Everything ferments with native yeasts, and there’s no sulfur used during vinification. The Jacquère-based wines spend two years on gross lees; the Altesse, three. Reds—Pinot, Gamay, Mondeuse—are destemmed and given the same unhurried treatment in the cellar.

2022 Domaine de Chevillard, Savoie Rouge, France $48
Blend of Pinot & Gamay

2021 Domaine de Chevillard Roussette de Savoie, France $68
Altesse of the highest caliber, intense fruit matched equally intense freshness

2022 Domaine de Chevillard Jacquere Vin de Savoie, France $38
A blend of his terroirs, and his most accessible Jacquere

2022 Domaine de Chevillard, Jacquere Savoie Apremont, France $45
The stoniest and most driven of his Jacquere

SHOP ALL CHEVILLARD

DOMAINE LES ARICOQUES

Aricoques is perched above the village of Frangy, looking out over a valley shaped by glacial moraine—soils that are dry, nutrient-poor, and risky to plant. Though the area is famed for Altesse, any disruption during the growing season can lead to serious crop loss. Romain Dupont and Guillaume Bellon knew this when they revived this historic property, and have worked fervently to convert the home vineyard to Biodynamics.

The style here might best define Savoie’s newest chapter: serious farming in the vineyards, with whimsy in the cellar.

The view (and the dog!) overlooking Frangy; mixed media in the cellar.

When I visited, Romain and Guillaume were giddy, eager to share the experiments underway—co-ferments, mixed maceration styles, even some Nebbiolo they’d driven in from Piedmont. Creativity runs wild here. And you feel that joy in the final wines.

That’s not to say the top wines aren’t serious—they are, and deeply thoughtful. But from bottom to top, there’s an effortlessness and an aromatic purity that runs through the range. The kind of wines I can’t stop drinking.

2023 Domaine Les Aricoques Gamay, Vin de Savoie, France $36
Ultra-fresh mountain Gamay

2023 Domaine Les Aricoques 'Rhéa' Vin de Savoie $52
65/35 Altesse/Jacquere with 10 months sur lie

2023 Domaine Les Aricoques 'Méthone' Chautagne Mondeuse, Vin de Savoie $60
Whole cluster Mondeuse!

2022 Domaine Les Aricoques Roussette de Savoie Frangy France $65
His 100% Altesse bottling

2022 Domaine Les Aricoques Rouge Vin de Savoie, France $65
80/20 Mondeuse/Gamay, mostly destemmed

SHOP ALL ARICOQUES

DOMAINE DU GRINGET

We’ve written at length about the work underway in Ayze [read it here], but it bears repeating: this visit affirmed that the groundbreaking legacy of the late Dominique Belluard is confidently being carried forward at Domaine du Gringet.

With an ambitious approach to parceling out this once-obscure grape, the wines speak with clarity and conviction—both to Gringet’s pedigree and to the enduring power of Belluard’s terroir.

Endless views in Ayze; cement eggs dominate at Gringet.

Of course, (almost all of) the wines are 100% Gringet! In general, the wines are treated to 9 months sur lie in concrete egg, followed by 10 additional months aging prior to release. Even the Altesse ;)

2022 Domaine du Gringet 'La Bergerie' Ayze Blanc, Savoie $52
From parcels in Le Pré Milleret and Chez Reydet, done in a mix of concrete and stainless steel.

2022 Domaine du Gringet 'Aubeterre' Roussette de Savoie $64
100% Altesse, the estate's only non-Gringet and planted personally by Dominique in the '90s.

2022 Domaine du Gringet 'Vers Etraz' Ayze Blanc, Savoie $64
From the most calcareous site, the most Jurassian!

2022 Domaine du Gringet 'La Paille' Ayze Blanc, Savoie $100
From a rare almost-centenarian parcel of very old vines, treated gently.

2022 Domaine du Gringet 'Le Feu' Ayze Blanc, Savoie $100
*The* cuvée, from Savoie's most prized parcel of Gringet.

SHOP ALL GRINGET

Chris and Bryan in Savoie 🫶