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Labbe Abymes
I'm a firm believer in blind tasting. Nailing the vintage and the variety can come off as a parlor trick, but some of the biggest vinous surprises in my career have come when blinding. Case in point: the Domaine Labbe Savoie "Abymes" we just tasted is one of the crispest, most refreshing white wines we've had in ages. Best of all, it costs about half of what we all thought it would! As soon as we tasted it, this bottle immediately shot to the top of our list of best values in the shop.
The Labbe "Abymes" hails from the Savoie region in eastern France, at the base of the French Alps. We don't get to see many wines from the Savoie here in the States – most of it's consumed locally before it can ever make it out for export – but we love its chiseled, thirst-quenching whites. This is true Alpine viticulture, steep vineyards running straight up to the snowcapped limestone mountain slopes. The Savoie is one of those regions whose essence seems to be captured in a glass of its wine: more than once, I've described Savoie whites as being fresh as melted snow. Labbé's "Abymes" certainly matches that description!
Jacquére is the grape at hand here, the white calling card of the Savoie, accounting for over 50% of vineyard area, and little-seen elsewhere. The vast majority of Savoie wines get consumed by locals and tourists after long days of hiking and skiing, often alongside a pot of bubbling fondue, and it's perfectly suited to that role. It's crisp, mineral, refreshingly low alcohol; the sort of white that quenches your thirst and disappears before you know it.Alexandra and Jerome Labbé, cousins and the owners of Domaine Roger Labbe, highlight the grape's most invigorating qualities by farming organically, fermenting spontaneously, and aging it exclusively in stainless steel.
The resulting wine is brilliant, in every sense of the word. It's a pale yellow in the glass, with aromatic notes of lemon zest, delicate alpine herbs, white flowers, and a singing crushed rock minerality. When we blinded it, "Chablisienne" was the descriptor that kept cropping up. On the palate, it's brisk, invigorating, full of energy. White florals and a faint white peach note come through, but the minerality takes center stage. Oyster shells, wet rocks, melted snow are all there. There's very bright acidity and low alcohol, but it doesn't want for depth or concentration. The finish is long and stony. This level of pure rocky transparency just isn't something we often find in wines at this price point, and it blew us all away. An ice-cold glass of this Jacquére is about as refreshing as wine gets!
Domaine Roger Labbé's Savoie "Abymes" is hands-down one of the best under-$20 bottles in the shop, and I'd frankly take it over some much more expensive bottles. There's no reason not to stock up and crack a bottle every chance you get!
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