Grapes: Altesse
Region: Bugey, Savoy, France
Features: Sustainable

Distributor's Notes:

"100% Altesse. Montagnieu is southern Bugey's largest and most spectacular cru, named for the village and comprising 32 contiguous hectares on a steep, southeast-facing slope up to 400 meters in altitude; much of it is rocky clay-limestone scree, with parts of heavy clay as well as gravelly marl. Roussette de Bugey AOC is a broader appellation, not village-specific and usually including some Chardonnay--Peillot's fruit comes exclusively from their home village cru of Montagnieu and is exclusively Altesse, which is thus featured prominently on the label. The Peillot vines average 30 years old but get up to 100+ years in some parcels; much of the Altesse is planted on the steep scree, trained individually in the local, traditional gobelet sur échalas style. The farming is sustainable and harvest by hand. The whole clusters are direct-pressed and fermented with native yeasts in tank; malolactic fermentation generally does not take place but a tank will occasionally go through it. Aging is on the fine lees in tank only (no wood on any of the Peillot wines). The wine generally finishes with a few grams of RS; it is bottled with a light, non-sterile filtration in the spring/summer after the vintage."