Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle DOC

Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle comes from the two municipalities that give it its name, at the foot of Mont Blanc. It is the highest vineyard in the Aosta Valley and one of the highest in Europe: the vines climb to about 1,200 metres.

A single grape: prié blanc

This wine is made solely from prié blanc, a grape grown here for centuries and almost nowhere else. It ripens early, which allows it to reach maturity despite a short summer.

At this altitude phylloxera, the insect that devastated Europe’s vineyards in the 19th century, did not survive. Many vines are therefore still planted “on their own roots”, without American rootstock. That has become rare.

Low vines

The vines are trained on very low pergolas, sometimes less than a metre above the ground. The bunches thus benefit from the heat that the soil and stones hold overnight, and they are less exposed to frost.

Everything is done by hand: pruning, maintaining the dry-stone walls and the harvest, which usually takes place at the end of September or in October. Most growers take their grapes to the cooperative winery in Morgex.

In the glass

It is a light, low-alcohol white, very crisp. There is green apple, mountain flowers and a touch of herbs. It is drunk young and well chilled.

There is also a sparkling version and, in some years, a sweet wine made from grapes picked very late, when it freezes.

At the table

It goes well with simple mountain dishes: a trout, a fontina fondue, fresh cheeses, or simply as an aperitif with cured meats from the Aosta Valley.