Why it matters
The producer
Domaine de Chevillard farms 10 hectares in Savoie and works with Mondeuse, Pinot Noir, Jacquère and Altesse. Matthieu Goury founded the domaine, which farms organically and harvests by hand. The cellar uses wild yeasts, and fermentation is carried to complete dryness.
The red wines centre on Mondeuse and Pinot Noir, while Jacquère and Roussette de Savoie Altesse form the white side of the range. The bottles move between firm tannin, floral acidity, red fruit and bitter citrus finishes, depending on the grape and cuvée.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
The domaine works parcels in Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny, Saint-Jean-de-la-Porte, Fréterive, Chignin, Chapareillan, Les Marches, Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu, Apremont, Abymes and Monthoux. Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny is the home village, while Saint-Jean-de-la-Porte appears in the name of the Cru Mondeuse bottling.
That place name gives one red wine a specific Savoie address. The rest of the range uses grape names and other village names to show the breadth of the domaine's holdings.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Organic farming and manual harvesting define the vineyard work. Guillemette Renard, Goury's wife, trained in Agricultural Phytotherapy and prepares the plant based treatments used in the vines.
The cellar uses wild yeasts, with fermentation carried to complete dryness. White wines go directly into old barrels and undergo malolactic fermentation, except Altesse. Red wines ferment in concrete and age in barrels. Sulfur is withheld until bottling, with around 15 ppm total added at that stage.
Wines to know
The range in view
The red range is built around Mondeuse and Pinot Noir. Mondeuse Cru Saint-Jean-de-la-Porte is the named Cru bottling, with firm and delicate tannins, a juicy palate and ageing potential over a good decade. Pinot Noir provides a separate red expression within the range.
The white wines include Jacquère and Roussette de Savoie Altesse. Jacquère is light and refreshing, while Altesse is vivid and well structured, with a bitter citrus peel finish. The range therefore moves from a tannic named red to lighter white wines with different acidity and finish profiles.