Franck Peillot Bugey Montagnieu Brut

Franck Peillot now has over four decades of vintages under his belt, the first few of which he completed with the help of his father, who passed along knowledge accrued from three generations of prior winemakers. He is situated near the village of Montagnieu, which is just south of Cerdon, in the region of Bugey, which is usually lumped in with Savoie, though it's very clearly its own terroir, sharing some commonalities with Jura. The prized varieties are altesse and mondeuse, in that order, and there is a long tradition of sparkling wine production here. Peillot's version puts mondeuse at the fore, with young vine altesse and a drop of chardonnay blended in for good measure. It spends an uncommonly long time in bottle (sur lattes), sometimes as long as 3 years, before release, which really emphasizes the creamy, nutty richness of the wine. It's a great wine to celebrate the end of harvest or the end of a long week, and will elevate any meal, especially those involving mountain cheeses or creamy sauces.