- Made from Etraire d'Huy - 5 Hectares on Planet Earth
- Nose: Sour Cherries, Raspberries and Glorious Deep Spice
- Lilacs, Lavender
- Grapes, Pine - Very Alpine
- Such a Beautiful Wine in Such an Unexpected and Beautiful Way
- Palate: Super Juicy, Silky
- Gorgeous Black and Red Cherry Fruit
- Incredible Inner Mouth Aromas
- You've Never Smelled or Tasted Anything Like This...
...You'll be Blown Away
- One of the Most Refined, Sleek, Delicious, Complex, Original Reds We Have Sold
- I Have Gotten Endless E-Mails on The Genius That Is This Wine
- You Cannot Miss This
- It's Like If A Parcel of Volnay Was Transported to the Mountains
2020 Domaine des Rutissons VDF La Bete
- A Wine that Speaks of a Place I Didn't Even Know Existed
- Stunning, Unique Nose
- Smokey, Super Fresh.
- Loads of Wild Berries, Coulis, Currents, Flowers
- Forest Scents, Red Currants, Glorious Spice
- Palate: Stellar Inner Mouth Aromas, Sap and Deepness
- Startling Values Because Made From Obscure Grapes in Obscure Place
The Utter Joy of New Discoveries
I sometimes wonder what my favorite artists would have created had they lived in different eras and worked in different styles. Bach's music is brilliantly precise and joyous for his day but what if he had been removed of the artistic restraints of his time and been able to compose with the same freedom as say Beethoven. Beethoven, of course, broke the mold with the Eroica that was almost scandalous when it was released.
I call today's first wine the "Volnay of the mountains" because it is a wine that is as beautiful and aromatic as Volnay. But, of course, it is different because the terroir is different. It's a wine I'm going to stock up on to serve to clients when I see them. Because it's an experience that no matter how much money you have, you haven't had anything like it. I'm not saying it's better (or worse) than Volnay - it's completely new and wonderful. You should all try at least a bottle.
L33T^1000
One of the selfish reasons I love discovering new estates is that I get to write about them and and introduce them to an anxious public ready to explore new vinous boundaries. It is a great responsibility to introduce a new estate to this list as the tasting experience and acumen here is top notch. I've never ever worked with such a knowledgeable customer base. It's not like a retail store where anyone can walk in off the street and ask for White Zinfandel or Pinot Grigio. This is for true wine lovers and geeks with the most open minds possible to experience something new, something delicious and something distinctive. I have that in spades today.
Savoie - the New Cool Kid Region
The Savoie is an insane region. It's cool climate (obviously) which means that they not only have grapes
that no one else has but also expressions of more common grapes that taste completely different in the Savoie. And the wines are dirt cheap. It's wine geek heaven. Now that we have a serious Savoie / surrounding areas portfolio, each grower has their own vibe and oeuvre. Today's wines are actually from a region right next to Savoie with a similar style (and the grapes are grown on the Savoie border).
that no one else has but also expressions of more common grapes that taste completely different in the Savoie. And the wines are dirt cheap. It's wine geek heaven. Now that we have a serious Savoie / surrounding areas portfolio, each grower has their own vibe and oeuvre. Today's wines are actually from a region right next to Savoie with a similar style (and the grapes are grown on the Savoie border).
Isere - An Even Geekier Region
Isere is an IGP for wines made in the mountainous department of the same name on the eastern border of France. It is between the Savoie to the north and the Northern Rhone to the south. The cool alpine air helps the grapes ripen slowly. Only a very small area is suitable for the planting of vines and what is, is in my opinion, very special. Rutissons is working towards biodynamic, is full organic and uses low amounts of sulfur. Their first vintage was 2010.
Domaine des Rutissons
The estate today, Domaine des Rutissons, is in an area called Isere, which is around an hour and half drive from Annecy. It is a gloriously beautiful area with mountains looming over vineyards with stunning views. But what is planted in these vineyards is the story of today. One of the owners described Domaine des Rutissons as an estate "that makes wine from grapes that nobody has ever heard of." That is exactly what they do as this was one of the most delicious and educational tastings of my wine career. These are stunningly delicious and pure wines with refinement and rusticity and a deft winemaking hand. These guys, Laurent and Wilfrid, really know what they are doing and they are also making wine with these ultra rare grapes and doing, what I have such respect for, which is preserving local traditions. The wine world needs more Wilfrid and Laurents' and less Cabernet and Chardonnay. I fell in love with these wines for their startling originality, deliciousness and the preservation of memory and tradition.
The Wines
Up first I have one of the most interesting and delicious wines we have ever sold. I can't believe I get to sell this wine as it's so cool, so delicious and it's 11 on the geekometer. It's the best red I've ever had from the Savoie. It's so complex, textured, sauve and delicious. It's like if Côte de Brouilly/Crozes-Hermitage/Chambolle/Taurasi dropped acid and this is the wine they created. The 2020 Domaine des Rutissons Etraire d'Huy for $29.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is just a world beater. I keep saying stuff like this but it's true. This wine is why you shop at Fass Selections. Etraire d'Huy is not going to make me a millionaire (it should if the world were fair) but the other wines I sell large quantities of allow me to offer a whimsical wine like this. Don't get me wrong I love all wines I sell and believe in them all but the crazy ones, the commercially foolish ones, the underdogs are what truly get me excited. And when they are this profound writing about them is just a pleasure. Also to sell this wine is to preserve an ancient tradition of Isere, which is where this wine comes from.
The Grape. So what the heck is Etraire d'Huy? Well there are only 5 hectares in the whole world and Rutissons has a few of them. It's an ancient grape and typical of Grésivaudan which is the sub area of Isere where Rutissons is located. The name "Etraire" reminds one of the narrowness of its ovoid grain. The "D'Huy" is the name of the downstream torrent of Chartreuse massif in St Ismier. It's low in alcohol but has very good acidity and makes a super silky wine that is very subtle. It has silky tannins that remind me of high end Chambolle or Volnay. The color is always a deep violet and it's full bodied and tannic when young. But with age it gets incredible. The terroir comes through. That Alpine sensibility. When young they are full bodied and tannic (but ripe and juicy tannins that are glorious) but with age comes this insane silkiness as well.
The nose is simply awesome. Sour cherries, raspberries and glorious deep spice. Super mineral and almost a wooly vibe as well. Caramel emerges after some air as well as dark cherries. Some wildflower as well. After air it's a wow on the wowometer. Goregous nose of grapey, bright and intense fruit. Gorgeous refined spice. Dark fruits. Wild flowers. Berry, black cherry. Dark plums. Superb spice and earth. Gorgeously mineral and mashed dark flowers. This nose is refined and just heavenly.
The palate is a beast but so lively and so fresh. Wow. What inner mouth aromas. Juicy and so so refined. Super clean and super spicy. Complex and concentrated. So so pure. Fresh. Vibrant. This is so balanced. What a wine. One of the most refined wines I've ever had from the Savoie. Technically Isere. Incredible inner mouth perfume and ripe, gorgeous tannins. Amazing palate presence and so so well made. Super juicy, silky with ripe and almost an airy quality but with perfectly ripe tannins that are just so beautiful. They are refined and silky but need just a few years to integrate more when this will mimic Chambolle's tannins. It's dynamic with great energy and so linear. It's so silky already with gorgeous black and red cherry fruit. It's so pure, insanely juicy and just so well made. Incredible inner mouth aromas and tons of acid. This is awesome. It's so delicious and so original. There is so much beautiful material here but I think the wine needs 2-4 years of age to start to really drink well. But my goodness is it not a crime to drink it young. It's incredible stuff and my description is probably not doing it justice but you gotta taste it. You've never smelled or tasted anything like this and you'll be blown away. One of the best we've ever sold.
Next up is the utterly brilliant and magical 2020 Domaine des Rutissons VDF La Bete for $25.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is an ancient red field blend of varieties that are indigenous to Isere. It has Servanin, Joubertin, Persan, Pelourian, Gamay and Etrarie d'Hui and a few others as well. All of these, less Gamay, were new to me and I'm assuming new to you. This wine is incredible. A wine that speaks of a place that I didn't even know existed, but now that I've walked the vineyards, met the people and tasted the wines I can say this is a true "gout de terroir" wine that revives an ancient tradition in an increasingly modernized and mechanized world. These guys are doing God's work here. This is an ode to their grandparents. This is only 10.6% alcohol and is a joy to drink and smell and pontificate over. It spends six months in 5-6 year old barrels.
Stunning, unique nose. Smokey and super fresh. Loads of wild berries and some coulis, currents, flowers and forest scents. Strawberry, raspberry, red currants and glorious spice waft out of the glass. This is so aromatic and provides such a deep unique spectrum.
Hearty palate with stellar inner mouth aromas and such sap and deepness. It's very bright with an engaging pepperiness and vivid strawberry and black and red currant fruit. Elegant tannins and such completeness. Big earth finish with tangy citrus and currant. It can age. It can be drunk young. It has so much character. If Adrien Brody's face was a wine, this would be it.
2020 Domaine des Rutissons Etraire d'Huy IGP Isere - $31.99($119.96 4-pack)
2020 Domaine des Rutissons VDF "La Bete" - $27.99
($103.96 4-pack)
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