CAVE MONT BLANC
morgex & la salle - VALLE D’AOSTA
“One of Italy’s best white wines and one of the ultimate apéritif wines of the world, Blanc de Morgex et La Salle is a delight for tired taste buds. Bright, fresh, piercing and vibrant, loaded with juicy and zesty acidity and light-bodied floral and white fruit flavours, these wines are just what the doctor ordered…”
Founded in 1983 to recover and protect abandoned, ungrafted vineyards at the foot of Mont Blanc, Cave Mont Blanc gathers about 40 tiny, artisan growers into their framework. Each cultivates the variety Prié Blanc which is trained to squat pergolas on terraces at elevations of up to 1200 metres. Around 30 hectares of this grape are grown in the upper third of Valle d’Aosta and form the basis of the DOC ‘Blanc de Morgex et la Salle’ (the two towns at the centre of production). These are Italy’s finest light, mineral whites. Cave Mont Blanc works in a philosophy of knowledge-based, natural wine production, always respecting the terroir (variety, environment, tradition and culture) of their alpine territory. Indigenous yeasts are used in, temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine is carefully racked and does not undergo clarification or stabilization.
This is one of the classiest cooperatives in Italy and the world, one that makes a bevy of very fine wines all from just one single grape variety, Prié.
THE TRADITIONAL METHOD SPARKLING WINES
“…their bubblies rank not just with the best of Italy but can give many a Champagne a run for their money.”
Cave Mont Blanc ‘Blanc de Blanc’
100% Prié Blanc. The base wine undergoes its first fermentation in oak and stainless steel. Traditional refermentation in the bottle. Dégorgement no earlier than 18 months. Brut.
“Pale straw-green colour with a thin, rapidly moving bead of small bubbles. Very fresh and clean on the nose and in the mouth, offering a steely, laser-like combination of fresh mountain flower and white orchard fruit aromas and flavours. Spent 24 months on the lees and was bottled with a very small volume of liqueur d’expedition. This is an outstanding example of just how talented the Cave du Mont Blanc is at making bubbly wines that are less hazelnutty and oxidative than many other sparkling wines made elsewhere, but are at the same time livelier and fresher. 93 points." Ian D'Agata - Terroir Sense.
Cave Mont Blanc ‘Cuvée des Guides’
100% Prié Blanc. The base wine ferments in stainless steel. Traditional refermentation in the bottle.
The entire sparkling process takes place at the Pavilion station on Mont Blanc at 2173 m. where the characteristics influence and determine the quality of the perlage. Dégorgement not before 36 months. Brut Nature. Tiny amounts that are not exported – but we begged. Epic.
Yep, sabres are passé. The team at Cave Mont Blanc uses ice picks. ⛏️⛏️⛏️
THE STILL WINES
Cave Mont Blanc Blanc de Morgex et la Salle DOC
100% Prié Blanc. Wild ferment in temperature controlled stainless steel. No malo.
"Brilliant straw-green. Lemon verbena, jasmine, green apple and nectarine on the captivating nose. Very clean and precise with flavours similar to the aromas, this closes long, mineral and pure. Lovely wine that will blow your socks off as an aperitif or any simply prepared fish dish (freshwater fish, especially). 93 points." - Ian D'Agata, Terroir Sense.
Cave Mont Blanc ‘Vini Estremi’ Blanc de Morgex et la Salle DOC
100% Prié Blanc. Wild ferment in temperature controlled stainless steel. No malo.
Light straw yellow with delicate aromas of tropical fruit, white flowers and flint. The fresh mineral palate exhibits a streak of acidity alongside lemon peel and bitter almond. Ageing on lees gives the wine extra dimension and texture. ‘Vini Estremi’ ("extreme wine") is sourced from vineyards at an altitude of 1200 meters, the highest in all of Europe.
Cave Mont Blanc ‘Chaudelune’ Vin de Glace (Ice Wine)
100% Prié Blanc. Frozen grapes are harvested at night in December. Aged for a year across 8 barriques that are not fully topped up. Pictured below: 1 x apple, 1 x pear, 1 x chestnut, 1 x cherry, 1 x juniper, 3 x French oak.
“Pale golden-yellow with golden tinges. Very refined and elegant on the inviting nose that is still shows a youthful oakiness, with sweet spicy nuances to the aromas of hazelnuts, almond oil and ripe yellow fruits. Very harmonious in the mouth, with bright acidity keeping the ripe but juicy tropical fruit and lime flavours light and lively. A very unique Italian wine (Chaudelune is made by combining two different winemaking methods: the Icewine process of using naturally frozen grapes on the vine, but the liquid is then left to mature in ullaged oak barrels so as to develop Sherry-like oxidative notes) that is silky-sweet wine (110 g/L r.s.) but boasts so much refreshing, even piercing acidity (9 g/L total acidity) that makes this particular vintage of Chaudelune seem less sweet than some past vintages of this wine. 94 points." - Ian D'Agata, Terroir Sense.
FURTHER READING
Some seriously good reading:
https://terroirsense.com/en/p/9401.html – Ian D’Agata is the foremost critic of Italian wine and a master of its alpine terroirs.
https://www.cavemontblanc.com/le-persone – see the family of growers
http://www.singularselectionsusa.com/wines/italy/cave_mont_blanc.html
Ian D’Agata’s seminal work on Italian terroir:
https://www.iandagata.com/italys-native-wine-grape-terroirs-2/
