Roussette du Bugey

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The geographical area extends across a group of rugged small mountains, cut through by narrow valleys dominated by the Grand Colombier and its summit of 1,534 metres above sea level.
• The Roussette du Bugey vineyard is set within clearings with a predominantly south/south-east to south/south-west aspect, as well as on moraine domes shaped during the Quaternary glaciations.
• Plots on steep slopes rest on Jurassic or Lower Cretaceous calcareous and marly formations, or on Miocene molasse covered with argillaceous-calcareous scree.
• The Montagnieu vineyard, situated to the south-west on the banks of the Rhône, is planted on steep slopes exposed to the south, with shallow argillaceous-calcareous soils and occasional outcrops of bedrock.
• The climate is oceanic, with abundant and regular annual rainfall of 1,100 to 1,300 millimetres, influenced by both southern and continental conditions, with long winters that are sometimes harsh and warm summers.
• The Virieu-le-Grand site forms an amphitheatre open to the east, nestled at the foot of high calcareous massifs, with a well-sheltered vineyard planted on argillaceous-calcareous marls.

• The Altesse variety is said to have arrived from Cyprus in the fourteenth century, introduced by the Dukes of Savoy, who were allied with the Lusignan family that then ruled the island.
• The Bugey vineyard reached its greatest extent between 1830 and 1870, covering approximately 20,000 hectares in the Ain department, driven first by monastic influence and later by wealthy landowners.
• The establishment in 1888 of a grafting school at Virieu-le-Grand encouraged winegrowers in the region to put replanting practices into practice following the phylloxera crisis.

• Roussette du Bugey is a still white wine, generally dry, with a lively, fresh attack and a bouquet marked by notes of white flowers.
• The appearance of Roussette du Bugey is pale gold with bright highlights, which may deepen to yellow with age, while notes of white truffle may emerge during ageing.
• Wines from the Montagnieu geographical sub-denomination, produced over an area of 8 hectares, display a deep yellow colour with silver highlights and an expression characterised by minerality and freshness.
• Wines from the Virieu-le-Grand geographical sub-denomination, produced over an area of 1.2 hectares, are characterised by aromas of fruit and sometimes fresh truffle, with an ample, rounded palate.

• The Altesse variety is preferentially planted on sections covered with calcareous scree overlying marls and clays, situations in which it best expresses its freshness and floral aromas.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Dénominations géographiques complémentaires

• Roussette du Bugey Montagnieu AOC (PDO)
• Roussette du Bugey Virieu-le-Grand AOC (PDO)

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF)
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — Syndicat des Vins du Bugey