Franco Noussan is a “garagiste” in St Christophe, in the hills above the town of Aosta. His cave is dug into the hillside and is literally an extension of his garage. He is a teacher at the local university in Aosta and when not teaching, he likes to work in the vineyards and make wine and eaux-de-vie.
The grapes are from small family parcels in different areas near St-Christophe. In 1999, his family acquired vineyards from his wife Gabriella’s side. They were all old vines vineyards, the majority over 70 years, planted in Petit Rouge, Mayolet, Fumin and Pinot Gris. The vines are all over 40 years and the majority much older. In 2003 he also began renting some vineyards and now has about 5.5 hectares of surface. The vineyards are worked without herbicides and are plowed. The yields are kept small. He started making wine just for the family’s and friends’ consumption, but then began bottling and selling the wine in 2005 under his own label.
The grapes are harvested by hand, the fermentations are with indigenous yeast in stainless steel tanks, pressed using a hand press, then the wine is aged in smaller oak barrels from a year to 14 months. The wines are bottled unfiltered. All of this done in Franco’s garage/cave.
The Torrette is Petit Rouge over 70% and the rest is Mayolet, Cornalin and Vien de Nus.
The Cuvé de la Côte is a field blend from a parcel of particularly old vines.