Dominique Belluard Les Perles du Mont Blanc Method Ayze Traditionnelle Brut Nature 2019
LESS IS MORE WINESGrape: Gringet
Vintage: 2019
Type: Sparkling
The 2019 if fresher, livelier and less “leesey” than the 2018. Apples, hay, an alpine meadow type of nots. It’s hard to find something as delightful and enjoyable. The sad note to this wine, is that it’s the last vintage ever made. Dom Belluard passed away in 2021 and this is the end of the line.
Dominique Belluard
Dominique Belluard, Dom to his friends, worked his family’s domaine in Ayse from 1988 until his death in 2021.
When Dom took over, the domaine was in polyculture, with dairy cows, apples, and other crops in addition to grapes. Dom was very much a farmer, but he wanted to focus his energies on being a vigneron, so he increased the vineyard plantings. He was particularly drawn to Gringet, a white variety found only in Ayse that was nearly extinct.
Dom became the master of Gringet showing the world its potential in Ayze’s terroir.
Ayze is a Cru of the Vin de Savoie appellation that covers the mountainous landscape south of Lake Geneva in far-eastern France.
Ayze is only about 30 miles from Mont Blanc, but the Belluard vineyards are planted relatively lower to allow ripening. Make no mistake, these are mountain wines. All are farmed biodynamically and were planted by selection massale.
Domaine Belluard had about half of the Gringet planted in the world. The varietal was almost extinct outside of his family's land.
Dom’s cellar practices were as careful and thoughtful as his farming. All fermentations are native and elevage typically occurs in cement eggs or stainless steel.
Wine made with 100% Gringet. Primary fermentation using native yeast and elevage occurs in concrete eggs. Second fermentation occurs in the bottle using native Champagne yeast; the wine is aged for two years on lees before disgorgement. The wine is unfined, unfiltered, with no SO2.