Domaine de l'Aitonnement

Domain presentation

Domaine de l'Aitonnement

Maxime Dancoine lived a few lives before to try his talent as a winegrower in the small vineyard of Aiton, in Savoie, France. These few years of wandering around never took him very far from the vineyard though, to the contrary they shaped his education as a winegrower : he first passed a BTS degree in winemaking in Beaune, then a license degree in wine sales in Colmar, which finally led to a diploma as an agronomic engineer, in Switzerland. In 2015, he took over a few hectares of a steep vineyard, facing the Arc Valley. This high-altitude site, with very steep hillsides facing south, yet promised some very hard work. The vines are rooted in marl, schist and limestone soils. The one who dares venture in this place and aims to work it needs to first listen, ask himself the right questions and properly understand nature’s wonders: in french, to keep an attitude of « Etonnement » means just that. A name for the Estate was therefore obvious, and the first wines in vintage 2016 are already a treat, with purity only matched with plush fruitiness. There is little doubt that Maxime belongs to the new generation of young winegrowers in Savoie, eager to put his region's wines back on the map, like waking it up again after a long hibernation. Maxime quickly chose the biodynamic vineyard management, carrying on his back the tanks when pulverising treatments, which dratically limits the frequence of such interventions. Grass is left to grow between the ranks, and compete with the vines of Jacquère, Altesse and Mondeuse Grise. The ageing lasts nine months in barrels, an exception in a region where the use of oak is seldom. Amateurs of cristal-like, sharp whites will enjoy the « Genesis » Jacquère cuvée. The « Solar » Altesse royally spreads her broad and textured palate, and should be paired with a great meal.

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The domains of the region

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Mathieu Apffel