Mondeuse Noire

Today, we're off to the French Alps near the borders wtih both Italy and Switzerland. No, we're not going skiing although we certainly could be, but we are going to be drinking wine. We're in a cultural and historical region known by many names, all pronounced roughly the same, but from different spellings depending on your language bias. Broadly in France, it is Savoie, English speakers tend to call it Savoy and others close by might call it Savoue, Savoia, or any number of other names.

The trip here is not easy. We've elected to fly into Chambery, the capital city, but you can't get to Chambery from just anywhere. So, we flew into Paris and waited on our next flight. And waited. Chambery apparently is no longer accessible, at least during the pandemic by plane from the French capital, so we took the high speed train into the Alps. Three hours later, we arrived in Savoienne capital.

Today, we are drinking wine from a grape known as Mondeuse Noire. Often a blending grape to be combined with the likes of Gamay, and required under French Appellation d'origine Controllee (AOC) regulations, today we are fortunate enough to be tasting special bottlings of Mondeuse Noire simply considered to be red table wines so as not to be limited by the AOC requirements.

The vineyards here are quite unusual. Rather than traditional hillside plantings, here the grapes seem to be hanging wildly off the sides of the hills. Not able to particularly bunched, the appearance is a bit like an archipelalgo of grapes defying gravity on the steep slopes.

This is a fitting grape for us today. After drinking Blue Wine yesterday, today we are drinking wines that while red have a very deep blue tint to them. And, compared to other grapes from France with which we are more familiar, Mondeuse Noire requires very different tending and growth. It's very suscpetible to mildew, but grows in thick bunches. So, before growing season starts, the vines must be pruned down tightly to ensure that the vines will be manageable. And, Mondeuse Noire does not like drought, so in most seasons, irrigation is necessary.

On the nose, belieing its blueness, this wine is fragrant with fresh rose petals. It is full-bodied and due to its naturally very high acidity reasonably ageworthy. That, in and of itself, presents a quandary. We're not likely to find much Mondeuse in our travels, so laying down the occasional bottle we can find might not comport with our needs to taste it.

On the palate, think of Mondeuse Noire as a more floral, slightly less spicy Syrah although in growing seasons in which it is not allowed to fully ripen, we get lots of tart charry. Fairly big and tannic and with significant mouthfeel, this is a wonderful pairing with the cheeses of the Italian Piemonte just to the south or with the likes of traditional Lebanese dishes such as Baba Ghanoush.