Mountain Purity - Stand Alone Chasselas
2014 Lucas Vin de Savoie Quintessence
Last winter, we did a quiet little offer on Dominique Lucas' Marin. The response was surprisingly huge. I spent the evening making small allocations.
We were very much caught off guard by the response. Chasselas from the Savoie is pretty esoteric. Regardless, we were really happy to see the interest.
I'd been hearing about Lucas for almost four years. A friend mentioned someone close with Savoie's star producer Dominique Belluard who was making the best Chasselas he'd ever tasted. Lucas' production was tiny at this point and he had a huge following among the select few who had tasted his wines. It took years before I could get my hands on any.
 |
If you have any familiarity with Chasselas, taste Lucas' and you'll look at the grape in an entirely new way. There's a mineral purity, a sneaking textural complexity and a boundless, citrus-animated energy. It all adds up for thrilling drinking.
Chasselas doesn't have a stellar reputation. For most, it's a simple wine to quaff without much thought after a day of skiing. It's frequently overcropped, chaptalized and simply forgettable. Throughout Switzerland, France and Germany (where it's called Gutedel), you may be able to find a handful of examples that are truly memorable. For me, Lucas' work stands out. Across the range, there's just another level of tension and overall intrigue.
Quintessence is Lucas' most easy drinking cuvée. Think of it as a combination of mineral water and mountain Muscadet. We're thankful that Lucas bottled something accessibly priced, because you'll want to drink a lot of it. At 11% alcohol and with a crystal clear stony cut, the glass empties quickly.
Dominique Lucas comes from a family of Burgundian winemakers, but instead of returning to Burgundy after oenology school, he settled in the Savoie on the border of Switzerland in and around the AOC Crépy near Lake Leman (Lake Geneva). Marin, where today's wine comes from, is just south of Crépy. Here he works biodynamically and vinifies the wines in an assortment of tank, concrete eggs, barrels and amphorae.
To put it simply, Lucas' are some of most exciting and drinkable wines I've tasted in quite a while.
To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits