All things Chignin: Didier Berthollier and Wink Lorch in store Friday, March 10th!
3/9/23 -
Tomorrow (now today!) we will be hosting an impromptu wine tasting with our good friend and esteemed author, Wink Lorch! For anyone who shares our passion for Jura and Savoie wines, Wink's is a household name, as her books remain THE reference for the histories and biographies of the region's best estates. We are big fans and are very happy to host her as she passes through New York for a brief visit along with some Savoie producers.
Though we weren't able to organize a big tasting, we are excited to have Didier Berthollier in store alongside Wink, as we will learn about all things Chignin.
The Berthollier estate dates back to the original farm that was founded in 1850 by Marius Tissot (there are a lot of Tissots in the region!). Consistenly a polyculture farm with a small surface of vines, Didier and Denis' grandfather, Victor Berthollier, first began bottling wines under the family name in 1960. Previous to this, the tradition in the region was the "VRAC" system, where locals would bring their own jugs and fill them directly from large tonneaus. The current generation, brothers Denis and Didier, have been writing the newest chapter for the family, veering away from the use of chemical products in the vineyard and focusing on their prized plots in the foothills of the Savoyarde Mountain. They stopped with chemical treatments in 2011 and are now certified organic and introducing Biodynamic principles as well.
The Berthollier wines are balanced, charming, and truly representative of the Savoie. Denis and Didier work with the quintessential local grapes, Jacquere, Roussette de Savoie (Altesse) and Bergeron (Roussanne), along with Mondeuse, Persan, Gamay and Pinot Noir. We've tasted the four wines that will be featured tomorrow, and were immediately impressed with the textbook aromatic profiles, and mineral expression of the wines. This will be a fantastic tasting to attend for anyone curious about Savoie wines, and a lineup that will surely help to prepare us for the Spring months ahead!
Wink will have some copies of her "Wines of the French Alps" book on hand, and we've convinced our former colleague and contestant for the Biggest Savoie Fan in NYC, David Hatzapoulos, to come and pour the delicious red, "Paroxysme" from Cellier de Baraterie. A blend of Gamay, Pinot Noir and Mondeuse, the Paroxsyme is a luscious red that should follow nicely after the Berthollier wines. Additional unannounced bottles may be opened, depending on what we find in the cellar!
