Les Crêtes Fumin: 1994 - 2015
BY IAN D'AGATA |
There are few wine producers who are more important in Italy than Costantino Charrère, owner of Les Crêtes, which translates into “the crests” or “the peaks” in recognition of the mountainous terrain that is one of the many defining attributes of the Valle d’Aosta, a tiny region sandwiched between northwest Italy, Switzerland and France. In addition to his innate ability to make great wines, Charrère must be commended for his unique dedication to his beautiful region’s local native grapes, many of which would have been lost forever had it not been for the work he has done in conjunction with the Institut Agricole Régional, or IAR, a research, teaching, viticultural and wine-producing center in the Valle d’Aosta.
My own interest in native grapes was in no small measure a result of tasting Charrère’s wines and getting to know him at the beginning of the 1980s. At the time, I was just starting out in the world of wine and yet he always had time for me, and also spoke well of his colleagues and encouraged me to visit them. Charrère, whose family is of French origin and moved to the Valle d’Aosta in the 1700s, was always fascinating to listen to. It was thanks to him that I was able to taste my first mono-variety Prëmetta wine (then bottled with a white Costantino Charrère label, as he did not establish Les Crêtes until 1989), and Fumin too – a light-on-its-feet, yet deep and ageworthy red variety that grows only in the Valle d’Aosta. I was also able to learn about and taste wines made from other previously unknown grapes such as Petite Arvine and Mayolet – the former a native of Switzerland’s Valais region that has taken extremely well to the Valle d’Aosta’s soils, the latter an exceptionally interesting red variety that is a nightmare to farm because of its very compact bunches that yield delightful medium-bodied, pungently aromatic red wines.
Costantino Charrère, with wife Imelda and daughter Eleonora
Fumin: The Variety
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There is perhaps no single producer in Italy who has done more for their region and its wines than Costantino Charrère of Les Crêtes. Over the years, Charrère has made some of Italy’s best white wines from old, forgotten varieties, but he is also responsible for the best example of the Valle d’Aosta’s distinctive red grape, Fumin, as this recent vertical tasting amply demonstrates.
