The newest star in the Chermette firmament, Pierre-Marie’s Saint-Amour is drawn from a tiny parcel of 50-year-old vines from the Champs-Grillés climat (which covers a total of just three hectares). The parcel was offered to Chermette by an old friend who could no longer manage the steep aspect on the Bessay Mountain.
Saint-Amour’s soils include areas of granite and varying quantities of clay and limestone—a mix said to produce lighter, more delicate wines. Chermette’s vines, however, are all rooted in the classic decomposed granite. Along with the old vines, low yields and high, southeast-facing aspect, this begets a surprisingly intense wine, which combines the lacy muscle of this grower’s Moulin-à-Vent with the soaring perfumes of the Fleurie. Long, flowing and lacy, it’s a wine to be drunk again and again.