Mondeuse

All of François Carrel’s 2 hectares of Mondeuse vines – the Savoie region’s native and unique red grape – grow on sunny, south-facing slopes with limestone-clay soils at about 350 meters of altitude. Half of the vineyard is 45 year old and the other vines are between 10 and 20 years of age. To ensure perfect ripening, Eric Carrel prunes severely to allow only 5 bunches (which typically weigh over 1.5 pounds each) per vine because the Mondeuse variety produces abundantly but ripens late. He also thins out the bunches, green-harvests and strips leaves. The Mondeuse grapes are picked entirely by hand in mid-October at the end of the harvest period. The fruit is sorted and partially de-stemmed (70%) before fermentation and vatting. The stems present in the tank serve to aerate the must which helps the fermentation process to advance. Carrel circulates the juice over skins (remontage) each day. After about 10 days, in order to extract color and flavor and avoid harsh tannins, he does a single délestage operation, whereby the entire liquid content of the tank is removed and then poured back in over the cap of skins. The vatting period lasts about 14 days and the young wine is tasted twice daily to ensure that its tannins remain supple.

The wine is matured in stainless steel tanks for 8 months. To further develop flavor and soften the tannins, Carrel introduces air into the tanks through micro-oxygenation after the first racking. Eric was the first in the region to do this. The Mondeuse next undergoes malolactic fermentation to balance the level of acidity. It is assembled, bottled over the summer, and released after 2-3 months of bottle age. This cuvée has an opaque, dark purple color but is relatively low in alcohol for such a deeply flavored wine. It presents aromas and flavors of blackberries, cassis, dark chocolate, licorice and minerals, all lifted and prolonged by soft tannins and the unique sensation of Alpine freshness.