Saint-Jeoire-Prieure is a named cru of the Vin de Savoie appellation of the Alps in eastern France. Located just south of the city of Chambery, the vineyards surrounding the village of Saint-Jeoire-Prieure are planted extensively to the Jacquere grape variety, which thrives in the alpine terroir here. Vin de Savoie Saint-Jeoire-Prieure wines are light and delicate with classic alpine characters of flowers and wet stone.
© Wikimedia/Florian Pépellin
Saint-Jeoire-Prieure is a small village on the west-facing slopes of the Montgelas ('Frozen Hill') of the Bauges mountain range. This ridge towers more than 4000ft (1220m) above the village and the Isere river valley below. The village of Chignin, itself a Vin de Savoie cru, lies to the south-east of Saint-Jeoire-Prieure, and the crus of Apremont and Abymes lie to the south-west on the other side of the river valley.
The vineyards of the cru lie entirely within the administrative borders of the Saint-Jeoire-Prieure commune, on southwest facing slopes that are steep enough to make good use of the region’s abundant sunlight (if not so steep as in neighboring Chignin). This sunlight helps to aid ripening in the cool continental climate of this part of Savoie, and as such, the grapes are able to develop varietal character during the growing season along with fresh acidity.
As in many of the Savoie crus that wrap around the southern end of the Bauges Mountains, the soils in Saint-Jeoire-Prieure are made up of rocky scree over a clayey limestone subsoil. These loose, crumbly soils, when combined with the steep slopes of the vineyards, provide excellent natural drainage, an important consideration given the high annual rainfall in Savoie. Limited access to water means that the vines are not able to become complacent in their growth, and will focus their energies into creating small, richly flavored berries rather than leafy foliage. This translates into wines with excellent flavor concentration.
Vin de Savoie Saint-Jeoire-Prieure wines are required to be made up of at least 80% of the Jacquere grape variety. In practice, many of the wines that use the cru are varietal, although vignerons are allowed to use a small proportion of several other grape varieties in the final blend, including Altesse, Aligote and Chardonnay.
