Étraire de la Dhuy

Laurent Fondimare established Domaine des Rutissons in 2010 on former agricultural land in Le Touvet, north of Grenoble in the Grésivaudan valley of Isère. His mission: to recover and preserve the nearly extinct Alpine grape varieties that once defined this valley. At its peak, the Grésivaudan produced 100,000 HL of wine per year across five co-operatives — today, a handful of committed growers keep the tradition alive. The domain farms 7 hectares biodynamically on clay-limestone and glacial moraine soils, focusing exclusively on indigenous varieties: Étraire de la Dhuy, Persan, Verdesse, and others. Étraire de la Dhuy is one of the rarest grapes in France — related to Persan and Mondeuse, once abandoned for its low yields and 'too light and tangy' character — now embraced precisely for those qualities. Hand-harvested, native yeast fermented, aged in old oak for 6-12 months. No inputs, no filtration, no fining.