Description
This cuvée of Mondeuse La Belle Romaine from Château de Mérande truly captures the essence of Savoie. Regularly awarded prizes and featured in wine guides, this wine is a true flagship for Savoie wines. The colour is bright and violet. The nose offers a complex bouquet that is at once floral (violet, peony, iris), fruity (blackcurrant) and spicy (white pepper). On the palate, it is flavourful, deep and refined, with a lovely mineral freshness and rather sharp tannins. These will become fine and silky after one or two years of ageing. With its finesse and elegance, this Mondeuse La Belle Romaine is the estate’s signature wine.
In the vineyard, in the cellar
- GRAPE VARIETY: 100% Mondeuse
- TERROIR: glacial moraine covered with Kimmeridgian clay-limestone sediments
- PRUNING: Cordon de Royat with 3 spurs of no more than 2 buds
- CULTIVATION: Organic and biodynamic
- YIELD: 45 hl/ha
- VINIFICATION: Hand-harvested. Maceration for around ten days of whole and partially destemmed bunches. Natural vinification
(indigenous yeasts and no added SO2) - AGEING: In stainless steel vats on fine lees without stirring.
Organic and biodynamic farming in the service of the terroir
Château de Mérande has been certified organic since 2009 (Ecocert). The Genoux family also manages the entire estate according to biodynamic principles (Biodyvin). All vineyard work is carried out with the aim of preserving the surrounding natural environment: terraces, hedgerows and copses. Château de Mérande is committed to preserving biodiversity at the heart of its Savoie vineyards.
To ensure the terroir expresses itself in its purest form, André and Daniel Genoux use no weedkillers or other pesticides. They apply biodynamic preparations of plant, mineral or animal origin to the soil and vines. This is done at specific times according to the vine’s cycle and in line with a lunar and planetary calendar. The soil is tilled using a crawler tractor, a winch or animal traction.
All this work proves to be a colossal undertaking when one realises the steep gradients of the hillsides where the vines have taken root. But all these efforts are not without reward, as the wines powerfully express the identity of these great terroirs.
What to eat with a Mondeuse La Belle Romaine from Château de Mérande?
Local artisanal charcuterie. Chicken gizzards with parsley
. Morteau or Montbéliard sausage. Rabbit stew
. Wine merchant’s rib steak. Tome des Bauges
