
2020 La Vigne du Perron Katapnha










WINEMAKER: François Grinand
REGION: Bugey, FR
VARIETY: Chardonnay
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic
"One of François oldest cuvees and perhaps the most typical of his native Bugey, which afterall is an extension of the Jura massif. This chardonnay is tense and nervy, offset by the feeling of honey on the pallet and what I can only describe as the smell of elderflower" - Percy Selections
François Grinand once taught piano at a prestigious conservatory, but gave it up in 1993 to make wine in his hometown of Villebois in Bugey, France. He pursues the perfect bottle in the same way he might’ve once instructed students to pursue piano: with meticulous focus, dedication to practice and trust that beauty will arise from the process.
François’ Domaine du Perron is located in a nondescript garage just off Villebois’ town square. He farms a tiny two hectares of vineyards, with Pinot Noir, Gamay, Mondeuse, Altesse and Chardonnay tended to without any use of chemicals. More recently, he’s also started to buy organic fruit from like-minded neighbours, including from a Savoie vineyard planted to Jacquere that he shares with Jean-Yves Peron.
He uses an old upright press with a rock basin, pressing grapes and then transferring to old oak barrels where François tends to age the wines for 12 to 18 months. He bottles without filtration or additions of any kind. His wines offer a taste of Bugey, where the mountainous Savoie to its east meets the limestone-rich Jura massif to its north and the grandeur of Burgundy to its west. They are complex, elegant and true to varietal.