Cuvee du Prince (2018) - Cave Mont Blanc

Prié Blanc is the only European grape variety still grown on its own roots, thanks to the sandy soils and extreme altitudes (up to 1.200 m above sea level). The Cuvée du Prince is made only in balanced vintages and takes its name from Prince Tommaso di Savoia, who used to spend his summer holidays in the Vallée and was fond of the wines of Morgex.

The appellation: Valle d'Aosta DOC

Valle d’Aosta DOC is the only regional appellation of the whole Aosta Valley and one of the smallest, highest and most fascinating in Italy. Established in 1985, it covers the entire regional territory and includes an extraordinary variety of native grape varieties, many of them unique in the world, grown in an extreme mountain setting, often terraced and difficult to work.

What to eat with Cuvee du Prince

Who makes it: Cave Mont Blanc

Founded in 1983, the Cave Mont Blanc de Morgex et La Salle cooperative brings together around 80 small artisan growers, farming around 18–30 ha of Prié Blanc vines, the only native white grape variety of the Aosta Valley.

The vine of Cuvee du Prince

Jacquère

Jacquère is a white grape variety native to Savoie, in south-eastern France. It is known for the production of fresh, light and mineral wines, characterised by marked acidity and low alcohol. This variety is the soul of mountain wines, grown on the alpine slopes where the cool climate and the limestone soils give the wines extraordinary elegance and salinity. Jacquère-based wines are perfect for drinking young and stand out for their extreme drinkability, which makes them ideal as aperitifs or paired with mountain cooking and local cheeses.

Cuvee du Prince: the Alta Valle area

Climate: Alpine

Altitude: High Altitude (800-1.200 m above sea level)

Soil: Rocky / granite

Geographical setting: Valley

Profile of Cuvee du Prince

Primary aromas: Citrus, Alpine herbs, Apple, Pear

Secondary aromas: Yeast, Toasted bread

Tertiary aromas: Petrol, Honey, Flint

Tasting notes: A straw yellow colour with greenish highlights; a very fine, persistent bead. The nose is fresh, clean and very vertical: citrus, mountain flowers and the glacial minerality typical of Prié Blanc. The palate is taut, sharp, savoury and dry, with an elegant bubble and a long, saline finish recalling rock, almond and melted ice. A high-altitude sparkling wine of extreme purity.