Winemaker: Vincent Ruiz
Where: Ayze, Savoie, France
Size: 10 ha
Main Varieties: Mainly Gringet but some Altesse, Chasselas & Mondeuse
Viticulture: Biodynamic certified
Quick note: Formerly Domaine Belluard, now eponymously named Domaine du Gringet. After Dominique Belluard’s death, Vincent Ruiz was given the opportunity to take over the astoundingly old and beautiful vineyards. Out of approx 24 hectares of Gringet planted in the world - they have 9 hectare of it and making them the largest farmer of the grape variety.
Nestled in Savoie, Ayze, at the foot of the French alps and the entry to Chamonix and Geneve, Domaine du Gringet sits at around 400-650m elevation, with spectacular valleys shearing off at every turn. Formerly known as Domaine Belluard, named after Dominique Belluard of much acclaim, the vineyards are around 10 hectares, biodynamically managed, with Gringet, Altesse, Mondeuse, Chasselas and quite a few local varieties, with a soil composition of mostly clay from glacier movements, and broken schist limestone.
From 1998 Dominique Belluard created a beautiful wine estate, famous for excellently crafted wines, and sadly his untimely death in 2020 forced his wife Valerie to decide the fate of the estate. After meeting Valerie in 2021, Vincent Ruiz, a young winemaker from Ardeche, took over the winery, with wine still in tanks and amphora. Alongside Vincent’s work with Franck Balthazar in the Rhône Valley, and his own small negoce label, he jumped directly into the new Domaine wines. Vincent continued the vineyard practices of Belluard, through organic environmental work, but has moved away from any excessive soil work, instead focusing on planting grasses and cover crops between the vines.
Vincent renamed the winery to reflect the change, and Domaine du Gringet is the eponymous name given to a winery where out of 20 hectares of Gringet planted in the world, they farm 9 hectares of them! The variety almost solely resides within the appellation of Ayze.
Moving forward, Vincent has focused on vinification in concrete, stainless, fibreglass and clay vessels, but is mostly interested in clay and concrete to give expression, support and depth particularly to the Gringet wines. He uses gentle pneumatic pressings, generally over 5-12 hours, before extended aging on lees for 12-24 months, some with additional 6 months in bottle before release. Slight sulphur during aging, bottled under vacuum without sulphur.
His new releases are all still cuvées (not bubbles as Dominique was so fond of) of mainly gentle pressings over 7 hours. Extended aging on lees up to 18 months, with additional 6 months in bottle before release. The plan for the future is to extend aging even more with a slight sulphur during aging but bottled under vacuum without sulphur.
