Domaine des Ardoisières : Argile 2023

Characteristics and tasting notes for Domaine des Ardoisières' "Argile" 2023

Tasting notes

Colour
The colour reveals a pale yellow hue enhanced by brilliant highlights. It stands out with a crystalline clarity.

Nose
The aromatic bouquet expresses a beautiful alpine tension. It opens with delicate notes of white flowers and white-fleshed fruits, such as peach, underlined by touches of citrus like lemon and grapefruit. A subtle minerality, evoking wet stone and saline nuances, rounds out the whole.

Palate
The attack offers a lively freshness carried by beautiful acidity. The mid-palate reveals flavours of white almond, honey and crisp fruits (white peach, nectarine), accompanied by citrus zest. The structure is elegant, supported by an intense, saline minerality that stretches toward a persistent, particularly mouth-watering finish.

Food and wine pairing

This white wine is ideally enjoyed as an aperitif or alongside seafood such as oysters, crayfish or scallops. It also enhances delicate fish (sole, turbot, trout), roasted poultry or poultry in a light sauce, as well as vegetarian dishes and summer salads. When it comes to cheese, it pairs wonderfully with traditional raclette, aged Comté or fresh goat cheeses.

Service and storage

For an optimal tasting of the "Argile" 2023, it is recommended to serve this wine at a temperature between 10 and 12°C. Decanting for thirty minutes to an hour before serving allows its full aromatic complexity to unfold. Ready to enjoy now for its freshness, this wine can also be cellared until around 2028.

The pure, mineral expression of a great white wine from Savoie

The estate

Founded in 1998 to restore abandoned hillside plots, Domaine des Ardoisières has become an essential reference within the Savoie wine region. Located in the Tarentaise valley, the estate spans a vineyard cultivated biodynamically on steep, vertiginous slopes. Now led by Brice Omont, the estate stands out for its respectful approach to living ecosystems and its commitment to preserving native grape varieties. The wines produced brilliantly embody the qualitative renewal of local winemaking.

The vineyard

Classified as IGP Vin des Allobroges, the terroir from which this wine originates is located on the slopes of Saint-Pierre-de-Soucy, at an altitude of about 400 metres. The west-facing vines thrive in a cool alpine climate on soils composed of schistose marl, hard black schist and clay. Grown on terraces with controlled yields, this demanding vineyard requires entirely manual work to preserve its natural balance.

The vintage

The year 2023 benefited from particularly favourable weather conditions. Adequate spring rainfall preceded a sunny summer, allowing the berries to reach optimal phenolic ripeness while retaining the acidity essential to the balance of high-altitude wines.

Winemaking and aging

The harvest is carried out by hand at optimal ripeness. For the "Argile" 2023, whole clusters arrive at the winery without destemming. Fermentation begins naturally through indigenous yeasts, taking place in old wooden barrels for part of the blend and in fibreglass tanks for the rest. Malolactic fermentation occurs only if it starts naturally. Aging then continues for nine months in tanks and barrels, followed by a light filtration before bottling.

Grape varieties

This wine is a blend of Jacquère (40%), Chardonnay (40%) and Mondeuse Blanche (20%).