Chasselas 'A morning facing the lake', Les Vignes de Paradis, Savoie

Chasselas ‘Un matin face au lac’, Les Vignes de Paradis, Savoie. This is by far the most beautiful Chasselas in France. Tension, pure, finesse, mineral, long. Razor-sharp acidity and bitters. Provides great drinking pleasure. Alpine freshness from the Haute-Savoie, like a perfect morning with a view of Lake Geneva. Enjoy!

• Serve at: 12 °C
• Drink: now until 2030+

Chasselas, is it any good?

You mainly find Chasselas in Alsace, Baden (as Gutedel), and Switzerland (as Fendant). It normally produces neutral wines. But as you also see with Macabeo and Trebbiano, in the right hands, Chasselas produces stunningly beautiful wine. The appellation within the Savoie is called IGP Vin des Allobroges. Now you know!

Les Vignes de Paradis

Winemaker Dominique Lucas of Les Vignes de Paradis — nomen est omen — cultivates his 12 hectares of vineyards located on the cooler west-facing slopes biodynamically. The poor soil of glacial moraines (moraine, granite) with plenty of calcareous sandstone makes for wonderful fruit.

Perfectly ripe grapes

The grapes are harvested in stages (tries), always at perfect ripeness. This white wine from vineyards near Crèpy also comes from the best, oldest vines with low yields.

The juice ferments and ages for 6 months in egg-shaped concrete vats. You see these concrete tanks more and more these days; they are slightly permeable to air, do not impart any flavor (unlike wood), and the shape is said to create an internal fluid dynamic that results in better wine. Duly noted.

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