Description
Domaine Bärtschi, “Sous les Roches la Vigne” Two-Pack
If you’ve never tasted a wine from Bugey before—or don’t even know where Bugey is—don’t fret. But don’t wait any longer, either, because if the two-pack we have for you today is any indication, this remote French region is going to be the Next Big Thing. Granted, native son Clément Bärtschi brings a lot of star power to the cru village of Manicle, wedged between the Jura Mountains and the French Alps, where he once spent the summers helping his grandparents in their vineyards: He’s a former professional rugby player who later tackled the wine world, apprenticing at heavyweight properties like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and eventually becoming head winemaker at Rhône Valley icon M. Chapoutier.
In addition to his responsibilities at Chapoutier, Bärtschi has acquired a small stand of vineyards in Manicle, his ancestral home, and is crafting cool-climate, mineral-etched Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to make any Burgundy lover swoon (it made this Burgundy lover swoon, I can tell you that). Just as we’ve been laser-focused on developments in the Jura and Savoie—both of which are cool, mineral-rich frontiers on a warming planet—Bugey has all the makings of a hotspot (not literally, of course). These 2019s from Bärtschi are some of the most exciting new releases we’ve encountered in the last few years, and we couldn’t resist putting together a two-pack for a more thorough accounting of this terroir and Bärtschi’s talent. Production is minuscule, so act fast before our allocation disappears!
It’s not a stretch at all, by the way, to compare these wines to white/red Burgundies: Like the Jura to the north, Bugey was considered the eastern edge of Burgundy in the Middle Ages. The village of Manicle, where Bärtschi’s vineyards are located, is about an hour due east of Lyon. The uppermost reaches of the Rhône River skirt the area to the south, while the assorted wine appellations of the Savoie sit up-valley to the northeast. With the sheer limestone cliffs of the southern Jura Mountains on one side and the Alps climbing upward on the other, Bugey is a dramatic landscape that is perfectly suited to wine; mostly south-facing vineyards at high altitudes (around 400 meters and up) take in intense sunlight and benefit from the acid-preserving qualities of limestone marl soils.
Bärtschi acquired just three hectares of heirloom vines from a retired grower in Manicle and has been diligently converting them to organic viticulture. Given his past experience at Burgundy meccas like DRC, it’s no surprise that he has chosen to focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but of course Bugey is also home to many of the same local varieties gaining fame in the Savoie: Altesse and Jacquère on the white side; Gamay and Mondeuse on the red.
“Sous les Roches la Vigne” (“under the rocks the vine”) is the name for the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir alike, sourced from vineyards Bärtschi expects to be Certified Organic this year. Being an ex-pro athlete and an accomplished winemaker with a serious resumé, Clément is not bashful about his ambitions for these wines. Here’s a breakdown of what’s in this landmark two-pack:
2019 “Sous les Roches la Vigne” Chardonnay
The model here is Domaine Roulot’s taut, high-toned Meursaults: The wine is fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel tanks and used French oak barrels, spending roughly 12 months aging on its lees before bottling. It spends another year aging in bottle before release. This is a tightly coiled, mineral-drenched Chardonnay brimming with scents of green and yellow apple, lemon curd, lime rind, mountain wildflowers, white mushroom, oyster shell, and wet stones. If enjoying a bottle now, splash-decant it for about 30 minutes before serving at 50 degrees in all-purpose stems or larger Burgundy bowls. It would work wonders with a big board of Alpine cheeses or even fondue, not to mention all types of well-sauced wintry fish preparations, like this recipe.
2019 “Sous les Roches la Vigne” Pinot Noir
Organically farmed Pinot Noir from 40-year-old vines is fermented with 100% whole grape clusters and aged for one year in—you guessed it—used DRC barrels. The wine is mineral, woodsy, wonderfully tense and perfumed, and loaded with brambly black and red cherry fruit. The structure and layered fruit/earth of this wine is right up there with cru-level red Burgundy, and while the wine is appealing now after 60 minutes in a decanter, it will also age beautifully over the next 5-7 years. It’s an impressive, new-frontier red for Pinot Noir aficionados. Serve at 60 degrees in Burgundy stems with some old-school French Alps “ski food” like tartiflette. Amazing!
