| Mondeuse |
| This is Savoie's second most planted red variety (Gamay being the most planted), and the most planted of the traditional Savoie varieties. It is one of Savoie's oldest and most distinctive varieties, and had a long list of synonyms: Mondeuse, Mollette, Morve, Savoyen, Savoyarde, Savoyant, Savoete, Savoyanche, Grand Chétuan, Maximieux, Persagne, Persaigne, Pessagne, Tournerin, Maldoux Marginien, Plant Noir |
| It is a vigorous and productive vine, and is therefore often trained low, it is planted all over Savoy, but the best Mondeuse crus are in the Combe de Savoie: St Jean de la Porte, Crûet, Arbin, and Montmélian |
| The wines are deeply coloured, and keep well, with a peppery, violet nose. The wines, rarely for Savoie, do well in oak. It has some Italian characters: slight bitterness, and sour cherry notes; but DNA tests in Alto Adige have shown it is not, as some thought, identical to Fruilli's Refosco. Plantings of Mondeuse have suffered a long, slow decline, but have picked up recently. |
