The regional demand for Savoie wines is so great, it sometimes exceeds supply. Given that situation, it can be sufficient to merely produce vins de soifs for the thirsty tourist hordes. Beatrice and Louis Magnin took a direction tack, systematically opposed to what everyone else was doing, instead producing gem-like wines for clued-in oenophiles. We know few winemakers with the ideals, aptitude, perfectionism and pugnacity to work at their level. It is unanimously agreed that their wines have a constancy of the highest quality.

The reds that made their reputation are made with a single varietal: mondeuse. A cepage indigenous to Savoie, it absolutely requires aging to reveal its aristocracy. (Try the 2005 now and you will not believe how incredibly good it is—just ask our translator!) The Magnins make four cuvées, including a cuvée Tradition available at the SAQ, and others occasionally available as private imports (Le Rouge, Brova, and Vieilles Vignes). As far as their whites are concerned, they make a Roussette de Savoie and two cuvees of bergeron, the local name for rousanne, available as private imports. All self-respecting wine hedonists will want to squirrel away at least a few bottles of Domaine Louis Magnin in their cellar.