Andre and Michel Quenard "Chignin" Jacquere Savoie 2024

Press 4 Mix/White • December 2025/January 2026 Direct Press Selection

The Chignin region in the southern part of Savoie is what the Savoie looks like when I picture it in my mind: steep, rocky vines that creep up the mountains while looking south towards the snow covered peaks of Mont Granier and the Massif des Bauges. Because the vines are mostly planted towards the south, they maximize their sunlight exposure and can actually produce riper grapes than some other parts of the Savoie. Fig and olive trees even grow there.

Quenard is a very common last name in Chignin, but Andre and Michel are the most well-known and influential. Andre had to start young, helping his widowed mother back in 1944. Though they were a typical mixed farming operation with cows and vines, by the end of the 1950s Andre had become one of the first in Chignin to bottle his own wines. His son Michel started making the wines there in 1976 and Michel's son Guillaume has been the winemaker since 2009. All three generations are working together, and they have been among the most vocal and hardworking advocates for raising the profile of the Chignin appellation. They have always worked with as little chemicals in the vineyard as possible, used native yeasts, and low sulfur levels. The wines have earned their place as standard bearers over the years and the entire lineup of wines is superb.

Their Jacquère bottling is from vines over 70 years old on a slope of limestone scree. It has a stony, almost Muscadet-like minerality matched with golden currant and lemon curd. The palate is ripe, juicy, and creamy. Combined with citrus and herbal, foresty elements, this creates a mouth-watering tension and vibrancy. Jacquère is usually the least exciting Savoyard variety to me, but here it is approaching white Burgundy in terms of elegance and complexity. Despite this elevated level of quality, it can still function as a dangerously gulpable après-ski wine or a knockout for Raclette. Jonathan Kemp