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Domaine du Pavé, Tressallier “Différent”

Loire Valley, France 2018 (750mL)
$29.00
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Domaine du Pavé, Tressallier “Différent”

One of the reasons blind tasting is valuable is because it levels the playing field. Reading a wine’s label embeds a whole set of expectations in your mind—a ‘placebo effect,’ of sorts, to which even the most experienced professional tasters are susceptible. When I first tasted today’s wine, blind, I experienced a racy, mineral white reminiscent of Pouilly-Fumé, with a serious nod to Chablis in there as well. It is invigorating, a master class in minerality, and sneakily powerful.


I may well have had the same reaction had I known beforehand that it was made from the obscure Tressallier grape in the remote Loire Valley appellation of Saint-Pourçain; it’s also possible I’d fixate on the unfamiliar grape and location of origin and, absent of much context, deem it “interesting” and leave it at that. As you may have gathered by now, Domaine du Pavé’s “Différent” is more than just…uh…different. You may never have heard of Tressallier, or Saint-Pourçain, but if quality, value, and tension are your white wine measuring sticks, this will be instantly familiar.


Our job, after all, is to make the big world of wine a little smaller—but Tressallier from Saint-Pourçain is about as far afield as one can reach. Also known as Sacy, the Tressallier grape is believed to have originated in the Yonne (the French département that is home to Chablis); it was prized for its high yields and crisp acidity, but it all but disappeared after the phylloxera epidemic in France at the end of the 19th century. Even in the Saint-Pourçain appellation, which is effectively the last bastion for Tressallier these days, the variety is only permitted as a “complementary” component in AOC-labeled wines. Varietal expressions of Tressallier—what few there are—are usually labeled as vins de table.



The Saint-Pourçain region runs along the west bank of the Allier River, which meets up with the Loire near Nevers; this is well south of Pouilly/Sancerre, in the “upper” reaches of the Loire Valley, which tends to be forgotten in discussions of the region’s wines. Domaine du Pavé is run by Julien Nebout, whose family estate, Domaine Nebout, has been a fixture in the region—and a champion of the Tressallier grape—for generations. The property is headquartered in the village of Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, which, to give you a better sense of its situation, is about 150 kilometers due west of Mâcon (southern Burgundy). The region’s vineyards are mostly comprised of ‘alluvial’ sands and gravel (although there are some pockets of clay/limestone), with relatively high altitudes of 300-400 meters on average. The entire Saint-Pourçain region contains just 550 hectares of vineyards, of which Tressallier constitutes a minuscule percentage—I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw a varietal wine from this grape.



Domaine du Pavé’s 2018 “Different” is a pure, unadorned expression of this resolutely local specialty. It is fermented on indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and aged briefly in tank on its lees before bottling, resulting in an electrifying wine that ignites the salivary response with each sip. In the glass, it’s a pale yellow-gold with flecks of silver, with aromas of lemon pith, green mango, green peach, cider apples, lees, crushed oyster shells, herbs, and freshly chopped nuts. It is light- to medium-bodied with a hint of Aligoté-like creaminess, a whiff of Pouilly-Fumé-like smoke and tropicality, and a vivid crushed-mineral imprint akin to fine Chablis. I’d suggest decanting this wine about 30 minutes before consuming at 45 degrees in all-purpose white stems; it would make a great apéritif wine alongside a few creamy cheeses (which will put its acid and minerality to work), or pair it with white-fleshed seafood of all types. This is a white for food if there ever was one—well worth a trip way outside your comfort zone. Cheers!
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Country
France
Region
Loire Valley
Sub-Region
FranceSaint-Pourçain
Soil
Gravel, Sand & Clay
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Tressallier (a.k.a Sacy) 100%
Alcohol
12.5
OAK
None
TEMP.
45-50
Glassware
All-Purpose Whites
Drinking
Now-2024
Decanting
15-30 Minutes
Pairing
Spiced Snapper w/ Cucumber Salad

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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