Delicious, Fascinating Alpine Whites (Plus a Couple of Wonderful Savoie Reds): Mathieu Apffel, Adrien Berlioz, & Domaine Curtet

Tasting through these Alpine whites was one of the most provoking wine experiences I had in 2020. Sometimes, I enjoyed a bottle in two parts, over two days, and other times over a handful of hours, from the early evening until my final sip after midnight.  And yes, we all know that wine changes (hopefully in a good way), after opening and exposure to oxygen, but the astonishing purity of development in these wines was reflected, and was defined by, the purity of flavor and structure that the wines both began and ended with - a seamless story of citrus, orchard fruit, herbs, and minerals tip-toeing from one glimmering point to another. Most bottles defied any pattern of "highs and lows", of "highlights," instead offering their entire play of simple, focused, and beautiful changes as their gift. I don't mean to be dramatic, but I am sincerely haunted by this. I am still trying to figure out exactly what I tasted in each.

Before diving in, I would like to acknowledge the work of our friend Wink Lorch, and her book, Wines of the French Alps. It is 384 pages of notes and opinions, covering the producers, wines, and specialty foods of the Savoie and the country's other Alpine regions - a priceless resource. Wink is offering a 10% discount on this book, as well as her book, Jura Wines, when purchased directly from her website and using this promotion code at checkout*: chamb1012021

Domaine Curtet, the estate run by Marie and Florien Curtet, with vineyards in Motz and Serrieres en Chautagne, has a delicious Jacquère and Altesse blend, Tonnerre des Gres. It is tepid, it is shy, but it reveals amazing depth and character if given a moment of thoughtful consideration. The nose displays delicate apple and pear, with a hint of bitter herbs that transforms over time to something slightly candied, with accents of almonds. To me, the palate is Chablis-like, with assertive minerality, but a sneaky tenderness. Also, the only reds in this offer, Autrement Rouge and Frissons des Cimes, are from this estate. The first is a blend of Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Mondeuse. It begins with crisp red fruits, but develops an array of blue, black, and red forest berries, and a very appealing softness on the palate. The Frissons des Cimes, is a hunky Mondeuse that starts off very earthy, full of mulch, but transforms into a plummy Syrah-like wine, with olives, pine, and meat, along with bold graphite. The slopes that the couple work once, just a few years ago, belonged to Jacques Maillet, one of the Savoie's most celebrated low-intervention winemakers. Florien, who had been working under Maillet, was able to take over the coveted, well-tended fields after Maillet retired. Wink Lorch writes that "the early success of this couple is well deserved," and that Marie and Florien "are taking this now certified biodynamic estate to perhaps even greater heights."I can't wait to taste their wines in the future vintages, but also to revisit the 2018s after a year or so. Outstanding bottles, all three.

In a short email exchange, Marie explained to me that her and Florien "think that wine is made in the vineyard and not in the cellar." In her argument against intrusive cellar-methods, she wrote, "like kids, if you have done a good job on the vineyard, you can let them express themselves on their own."

In 2017, Mathieu Apffel, a Jura-native, was able to release wine under his own name. Not new to the Savioe-scene, he had been producing wines with a partner since 2013. It was only when he was able to purchase vines, mostly in the village of Saint-Baldoph, that he was able to spearhead his own project. The soil here is rich in glacial deposits - clay, limestone, full of mica-schist and quartz. Mathieu has 4.5 hectares, the 3 hectares being the vines in Saint-Baldoph, and the remaining 1.5 found nearby in the village of Saint-Alban, soils heavy with gravel. He works organically, having converted the vineyards that he purchased to fit that philosophy. He does not fine, nor filter his wines, and he adds zero sulfur at bottling. I was amazed at how well the Avant la Tempete and the Terrior de Saint Alban held together the next day, seeing as they received no SO2 at bottling. The Avant la Tempete is 100% Jacquère, and begins with citrus and saline aromas and flavors, which impressively evolve into more substantial characters of lemon pith, orange zest and yellow apple. Even the structure grows in weight. The Terrior de Saint Alban, an even-split of Altesse and Jacquère, has a fresh, grassy nose, and distinct lemony aromas from the start, a bit more pungent than the Avant la Tempete, and has an edgy and spicy palate. After 12 hours open, the spice becomes much darker, and lovely flavors of fresh green herbs arrive.

"As a winegrower, my aim is to express the diversity of my farm’s environment into the glass of wine : soil, climate, wildlife and flora and personality of the people working inside it," Mathieu wrote me in an email. "I produce mainly white wines and I like them to be light and fluid though structured by the limestone of our soils. I work the vineyard organically and use biodynamics to enhance energy inside the farm’s ecosystem. Most of my cuvées are fermented and bottled without addition of SO2 in order to keep the wine alive and maintain the farm’s energy inside the bottle." In my experience with the wines, the vitality that Mathieu wants to protect through his winemaking is absolutely there in the glass.

Although less well-known than Gilles, his winemaking cousin, Adrien Berlioz stunned me with his 100% Roussanne, as well as the Jacquère-Altesse blend, Les Gueux Blanc. The Roussanne, named Raipoumpou, is gold in the glass. Aromatically, it is full of apples, herbs and smoke, along with a very interesting smell of yellow berries. Les Gueux, is cleaner in color, similarly bold in it's character. There is baked bread on the nose, dry grass, and flowers. The palate is minty and citrus-driven. These bottles are the strongest in aroma and flavor that we're offering today - so much flavor packed into these wines. There isn't much online about Adrien's estate, once known as Cellier des Cray, but Wink has plenty of information in her book. "His vineyard holdings have changed over the years, but all have been in Chignin, Montemélian and Arbin... mostly on relatively steep slopes, so most of his viticultural practices have been essentially manual." He has been certified organic since 2012, and working towards biodynamics. He only uses native yeasts, and insists on malolactic fermentation in all his wines. "Adrien is a perfectionist from grape to bottle," Wink writes, "and it really shows in his wonderfully precise wines."

The artful, healthy winemaking practices of the hard working men and women of the Savoie have something to give you. If you want everything you can get from the wines in today's offer, be patient with them. These are well made wines and they can deliver the drinker a very special experience if they are allowed to. Think about each sip. Reflect on the flavors and aromas that existed an hour or two ago - are they the same as they are now? When I treated the wines this way, I was rewarded with a deep connection to what I was drinking. It is a different way to enjoy wine, but maybe we all need to give ourselves an evening to relax and contemplate something. I believe, whether you expect it or not, you'll be thinking about these wines for a long time after the bottles are finished. Marie Curtet's last sentence to me in her email was this: "Life is beautiful and we try to have a lot of life in our wines." David Hatzopoulos

*Offer valid until 2/15/21