Dom. Saint Germain 2023 Persan

This ancient red grape was once typical of the Savoie region, but declined in plantings until it disappeared almost entirely for decades. Despite its recent resurgence, less than 70 acres are being farmed today! And to say we're excited to share this wine is an understatement.

The 2022 vintage is worth buying in its own right, an epic vintage, and it's also the first release since the young-and-uber-talented Louise Saint-Germain took over cellar duties from her father. GO LOUISE! If you order just one wine from us this month, please-please-please let it be this one. You will not regret it!

In the glass, there's a purity of black mulberry fruit and unbridled mineral power. But this '22 vintage balances all that power with a thirst-quenching juicy/berry freshness, and a modest 12% ABV.

It never ceases to blow my mind how a wine vinified with zero sulfite additions like this, can be so chiseled and perfect, so free of any "off" aromas or rough edges. This '22 Persan is like biting into a perfectly ripe black plum or eating a skin-staining handful of fresh huckleberries in the forest.

Every sip is so vivid, and so evocative of fond memories. And an epic bottle like this silences any debate about "natural wine". Of the world’s few, precious acres of Persan vineyards, this vineyard "Princens" is the oldest Persan vineyard known, and it's also the source for all new plantings of the variety. So, anytime you drink Persan from anywhere in the world, you can rest assured its lineage descends directly from this wine and vineyard.

Domaine Saint-Germain is located in the Bauges regional park at the foot of the steep Bauges Mountains, facing the Alps. The domaine has around 25 acres of vineyards on the south-facing slopes of the village, Saint-Pierre d´Albigny. From a family of vine growers, brothers Etienne and Raphaël Saint-Germain established their domaine in 1999. The two decided to dedicate themselves to building up a traditional Savoyard family vineyard and domaine. Recently, the helm was passed to the next generation, Louis, and while it seemed difficult to believe, the wines have gotten even better.

Like her father and uncle before her, Louise strives to produce honest and expressive wines. In the vineyards, they avoid the use of herbicides, practice careful selection of young vineyard parcels and grape varieties, limit yields and hand harvest. In the winery, they work traditionally, using minimum intervention between harvest and bottling. And while the Savoie abounds with good to great white wines, Saint Germain is producing some of the region's most compelling!