Description
Domaine Jean Masson, Apremont “Lisa”
You can’t discuss Apremont royalty without mentioning Jean Masson. His scintillating lineup—only white wines made from 100% Jacquère—are breathtaking refreshments, yes, but also genuine works of vinous art. In fact, many of them can be found decorating the Savoie section in Michelin-starred establishments across Europe. That’s right: a few pages after verticals of Leflaive, Joly, and the sort, there’s Jean Masson’s wildly affordable and beloved wines.
Today’s 2020 “Lisa” is a crystalline masterclass in mineral refreshment that overflows with pristine stone fruit, crushed rock, and a deep sense of mountain-spring purity. It’s genuinely hard to think of a white-wine experience more exhilarating and downright thirst-quenching than this Jacquère. It’s a single-bottle encapsulation of what makes the Savoie perhaps France’s most underappreciated white wine region, and we can have it for a song. There’s no reason not to go deep on a wine like this, so do like we did and load up for year-round drinking!
On the eastern border of France, jutting up against Switzerland, the mountainous region of Savoie turns out white wines with the shimmering clarity of Alpine snow. Historically, we haven’t seen much of them over here in the States, largely because Savoie locals consume the vast majority of it. Finally, though, some amazing Jacquère-based examples have trickled out from the prized sub-zone of Apremont. This little appellation was actually formed when a massive 13th-century landslide deposited limestone from Mount Granier to the agricultural land below. That limestone forms the perfect bedrock for producing the brisk, breezy whites Apremont excels at.
We couldn’t ask for a more devoted or talented interpreter of this special terroir than Jean-Claude Masson, who bottles no fewer than 10 different cuvées from his Apremont holdings. He may just be the most talented interpreter of the Jacquère grape the region has to offer. David Schilknecht—who, as the English-speaking world’s most respected Riesling critic, knows a thing or two about refreshing white wines—has said the Masson wines are “the most fascinatingly delicious Jacquère-based wines of my rather long experience with this variety.” We’re inclined to agree. Jean-Claude is now embarking on the 40th vintage at his estate, and his son Nicolas is poised to carry the Jacquère torch forward.
Jean-Claude named this bottling “Lisa” as an ode to his daughter of the same name. After a strict hand sorting in the vineyard, the wine ferments in stainless steel, where it then rests on its fine lees for a year. The nose is marked by an incredible commingling of high-toned, crispy fruit and resonant minerality: lemon zest, green apple, pear skin, yellow plum, just-ripe apricot, white peach, crushed chalk, Alpine herbs, mountain water, and meadow flowers. On the palate, it’s steely, pure, and immensely refreshing, with pulverized rock minerality buttressed by raw cream textural tones and lifted acidity. It’s difficult to even conceive of a more refreshing, more terroir-transparent drinking experience than “Lisa,” and it’s one we’ll be having every chance we get this year!
