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David Dupasquier’s family has been farming the steep slopes of Jongieux for five generations. He works alongside his sister Véronique, and father Noel is still very much involved in the vineyard and the cellar.

The domain is located in the village of Aimavigne in a southwestern lobe of the Savoie, close to the Rhône Valley. The vines are rooted in limestone-rich clay, with the rows blanketing the steep, sun-drenched slopes of the commune.

Domaine Dupasquier is often described as traditional, as today’s methods and practices are unchanged from generations past. This continuity has largely been lost in so many parts of the world, so it’s remarkable to taste these wines built on decades of experience and savoir-faire.

Due to the elevation, David works the vineyards primarily by hand, with grapes hand-harvested and the best clusters selected. Plowing is done once per year for every other row, as David believes that the biodiversity this produces in the vineyard is critical for the quality of wines.

In the Savoie, wine is typically fermented with added yeasts and vinified quickly in stainless steel.

But the Dupasquiers have always fermented with native yeasts, and have never had to inoculate, even in the coldest years. The wines also mature for a long period in old barrels on fine lees until just before the next harvest, when they are bottled and aged for another 18 months before release.

This amount of care in an obscure mountain region of France speaks volumes about how the Dupasquiers make wine.