Mondeuse, Savoie, France

A striking, knock your door down then your socks off red from the precipitous mountains of Savoie! A wild, zero-zero ride grown on over 130-year-old vines from two parcels, this taut & impassioned mondeuse is here to get things going – whether that be a conversation, a party, a diary entry, or the palate before dinner.  Winemaker Jean-Yves Peron trained under the best of the best in Bordeaux before moving home to become something that he considers closer to a mountaineer than a vigneron. He’s a total purist when it comes to making his peak evocative natural wines, meaning he uses nothing but grapes. Standing between his small lines of vines he’s at the total mercy of the weather, and in the cellar you won’t find a whisper of additives like sulphur or yeast starters. Drinking ‘Champ Levat’ is such a play fight. Get a mouthful of ripe & bloodied cherries, two red currants stepping out for a jazz cigarette, balsamic glaze on the pastry, kitten scratch, leather belt crack, locker room humidity & a TKO on your Jungian shadow. Order American-Chinese BBQ and end the night impulsively signing up for a Capoeira workshop. 

SPECIAL NOTE: This wild & of-the-moment wine is best slurped within a few hours of opening! Very delicious, but delicate.