2007 Domaine Prieuré Saint-Christophe, Mondeuse Tradition, Vin de Savoie, France.
Grisard Michel’s wines are now huge cult favorites, especially after he retired, with some of his releases like the 2005 and this fabulous 2007 Mondeuse Vin de Savoie getting some nose bleed prices, making this a rare treat indeed. This nicely matured dark garnet hued Mondeuse shows off smooth layers of dried, spiced and dusty fruit with black raspberry, cherry, cranberry and reduced strawberry, along with hints of not sweet caramelized sugar, leather, briar, light floral notes, earthy loam and cedary accents. This Domaine Prieure Saint-Christophe was sneaky ringer in a blind tasting recently and it showed beautifully along side some finely aged Burgundies. The Mondeuse Noire varietal, which is a dark skinned alpine grape, produces a deeply colored wine with lots of earthy and spicy flavors, as well as having a heady violet and peony bouquet, especially in its youth and has some similarities to Syrah, but a bit lighter and more tangy usually. Mondeuse is grown primarily in the Savoie region of eastern France, high up and close to the Swiss border, though it has found its way to the new world. With this producer being a tough get, I also recommend the Vin de Savoie Chignin (Mondeuse) “Vieilles Vignes” from André et Michel Quenard if you want to explore this region and grape. The grape can now also be found in Argentina, Australia, California, Switzerland and freakishly as well as on Sicily, which seems odd. Most European plantings of Mondeuse Noire were devastated during the phylloxera epidemic in the late 1800s which nearly wiped it out, but the grape has recovered, though not to the percentage of acres it once enjoyed. In California, the grape has been used to good effect by a handful of talented producers, with Jaimee Motely, Pax, Lagier-Merideth, Raj Parr, who has really championed Savoie grapes in the state, and Aaron Pott doing really delicious and well crafted versions from Santa Maria to Mount Veeder.
The Domaine Prieuré Saint-Christophe which sadly has now has changed hands from the legendary Michel Grisard, who retired ten years ago, to Clément Giachino, who’s family fun another well regarded Savoie winery is trying faithfully to continue here, and I hear that the quality has remained true and up to the authentic and high bar set by Grisard. In recent years the label has been updated by Giachino, so you’ll know right away it is a different era for Prieuré Saint-Christophe. It’s noted that Michel Grisard began work on what would become Domaine Prieuré Saint-Christophe in 1978, when it was an estate in ruins, and it was no small task to turn it around. He left his father’s vineyard in 1982 to concentrate solely on this property and make it an iconic Savoie estate, declaring that the mission was to “turn Mondeuse into a great wine”, which he did. Mondeuse was not all that popular at the time, but has since become the leading red grape in Savoie, largely thanks to Michel and to a lesser degree the mentioned Quenard family, in fact Grisard is often referred to as the “Pope of Mondeuse”. He owned six hectares of vines, mostly Mondeuse, though Grisard also grew Altesse, the signature white in the area, on the ruggedly mountainous Savoie slopes.The wines were made with the potential for bottle aging and he discovered and employed biodynamic production methods, which enhanced his efforts greatly. The estate which spreads over the towns of Frétérive and Arbin, giving it different options when it comes to terroir, with some calcareous soils, as well as classic ancient clay and limestone. Four of the six hectares are exclusively Mondeuse and the rest is Altesse, again making these wines exceptionally rare. With Michel’s last vintage of Prieuré Saint-Christophe being the 2014 vintage, there’s not much available, and get wild prices, but the Clément Giachino made versions are well worth chasing down and fairly reasonably priced.
($N/A) 94 Points, grapelive