La Vigne Sauvage
David Humbert
Excenevex, Haute-Savoie
High in the French Alps, David Humbert farms 1.5 ha of land and is demeter certified. The vineyard is located on the border of Lac Lémant (Lake Geneva) in the French Savoie. It's a rich and beautiful terrain of alluvial river stones, Jurassic era glacial deposits, and screes of limestone. It's a dynamic combination that makes for wines of depth, precision and tension. When we met, he was finishing up harvest and moving wines around his new, garage style winery. In a tiny, plywood room there were 5 or 6 small vats of either stainless or fiberglass, and the sounds and smells of fermentation everywhere. David was humble and quiet, and yet another example of the man matching the wine.
We love David's wines for their unique mineral expression, timbre of acidity, and bright yellow fruit. They are elegant, clear and ethereal expressions from an alpine climate of freshness and transparency. David takes this last piece very seriously, having gone out on his own from Les Vignes de Paradis with the mission of starting a winery with less intervention and more clarity.
2021
Vdf “L’Insouciance” 2020
VARIETY: 100% Chasselas
TERROIR: The vineyards are split into two small parcels one in the appelation Marignan, the other in Marin, both on limestone and clay soils. Demeter certified, organic. L’insouciance is in Marin, higher up on a slope, composed of limestone, gravel and scree.
HARVEST: hand picked
VINIFICATION: Direct press into stainless in David’s small and charming facility.
Vdf “La Sauvageonne” 2020
VARIETY: 100% Chasselas
TERROIR: The vineyards are split into two small parcels one in the appelation Marignan, the other in Marin, both on limestone and clay soils. Demeter certified, organic. La Sauvageonne is in Marignan, closer to Lake Léman, sandier soil.
HARVEST: hand picked
VINIFICATION: Direct press into stainless in David’s small and charming facility.
2020
Vdf “L’Insouciance” 2020
VARIETY: 100% Chasselas
TERROIR: The vineyards are split into two small parcels one in the appelation Marignan, the other in Marin, both on limestone and clay soils. Demeter certified, organic.
HARVEST: hand picked
VINIFICATION: Direct press into stainless in David’s small and charming facility.
Vdf “La Sauvageonne” 2020
VARIETY: 100% Chasselas
TERROIR: The vineyards are split into two small parcels one in the appelation Marignan, the other in Marin, both on limestone and clay soils. Demeter certified, organic.
HARVEST: hand picked
VINIFICATION: Direct press into stainless in David’s small and charming facility.
2019
Vdf “L’Insouciance” 2019
VARIETY: 100% Chasselas
TERROIR: The vineyards are split into two small parcels one in the appelation Marignan, the other in Marin, both on limestone and clay soils. Demeter certified, organic.
HARVEST: hand picked
VINIFICATION: Direct press into stainless in David’s small and charming facility.
Vdf “La Sauvageonne” 2019
VARIETY: 100% Chasselas
TERROIR: The vineyards are split into two small parcels one in the appelation Marignan, the other in Marin, both on limestone and clay soils. Demeter certified, organic.
HARVEST: hand picked
VINIFICATION: Direct press into stainless in David’s small and charming facility.