This time of year, a wine like today’s can get lost in the shuffle, because (a) we’re getting into the holidays, when lots of people start pulling out the ‘trophy’ wines, and (b) colder weather has many of us favoring reds.
I’ve got to say, though, that this Savoie white would be just fine by me this winter—especially the winter of my fantasies, in which I’ve just finished a day of skiing in Courchevel and have retired to the lodge, where I’m kicking back in my unbuckled boots and enjoying the way the brisk acidity and crunchy minerality of Chevallier-Bernard’s Roussette slices through my cheese fondue. This 2017 is not a big, alcoholic white, but it is plenty substantial, much more so than you might think. Most important is just how much soil character and regional typicity is packed into a $22 bottle of wine. I consider it as much of a trophy as most of the big-dollar bottles, because it’s not only a delicious wine but one that sparks imaginative flights of fancy like mine above. Lovers of white Burgundy and Loire wines take note: This one’s got the mineral footprint you’re looking for!

Chantal Chevallier and her husband, Jean-Pierre Bernard, met while studying viticulture in Beaune and took over her family’s domaine back in 1996. Now assisted by their son, Antoine, they farm a total of 13 hectares of vineyards according to ‘lutte raisonnée’ principles (i.e. practicing organic, except in extreme emergencies). Today’s wine is their flagship Roussette de Savoie (they also bottle a version carrying the ‘Marestel’ cru designation), aged only in tank and showing off tremendous varietal purity and deep, almost smoky mineral character. In the glass, it’s a pale straw-gold flecked with silver, with aromas of winter citrus, apricot, honeysuckle, white and yellow flowers, wet stones, and a hint of gunflint reminiscent of Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire. It is medium-bodied and textural, with a hint of waxiness shot through with crushed-stone mineral grip. And once you realize how effective its mountain-grown acidity is at cutting through fat, you’ll hardly want to save it for summertime. This wine with a charcuterie/cheese plate would be absolute magic, but as I hinted at above, I’m going to get thematic and try my hand at some fondue—for which this bottle seems almost custom-made. It is ready to drink now and over the next 3-5 years, and is delicious right out of the bottle. Something this evocative at this price doesn’t come around too often, so I’ll be stocking up. I strongly recommend you do the same!