Last week I was extremely lucky, when a fellow Diploma graduate Susan took me to a tasting of Swiss wines, specifically from the Valais region, at 67 Pall Mall.
Led by Simon Hardy, an expert in Swiss wines, the event was brought to life by Anouck Dann, winemaker from Celliers de Vétroz.
Me and Hannah in mountains above Adelboden
I last went to Switzerland in 2017, not on a wine tour, nor to go walking, but with a group of girl guides, visiting ‘The Chalet’ in Adelboden which was the original World Centre for the guiding movement. During some free time I raided the local supermarket and brought home a number of wines. I am definitely a fan, not just of the wines, but also of the fabulous scenery, the opportunities for walking, the dry humour of the people and a particularly treasured memory: the soundscape high in the mountains of cow bells and birdsong.
The Valais is the largest of Switzerland’s wine regions, following the upper Rhône River through a glacial valley in the south of the country. It has 2,500 hours of sunshine a year (Marlborough in New Zealand is considered blessed with 2,000), and a relatively dry climate thanks to the rain shadow of the Alps. Vines grow as high as 1,100m so the climate is cool with significant temperature falls at night – very desirable to slow down the ripening process and ensure balance between grape sugars and flavours.
Its most widely planted variety is Pinot Noir, and we tasted an unoaked young example from Les Celliers de Vétroz – made from bush vines planted in 1974, just 534 bottles made that vintage (2021). Very floral, with jammy, smoky fruit and more tannin than I was expecting, very high quality.
My rookie knowledge of Swiss wine meant I was surprised that we only tasted three dry whites – two Chasselas (also known as Fendant in Valais), the second most widely planted variety, and a Petite Arvine which I particularly liked, for its spicy minerally nutty flavours and rich mouthfeel.
The ‘native’ red varieties were Cornalin and Humagne Rouge (which confusingly is known as Cornalin in Valle d’Aosta). Luckily I was spitting out so I kept up. Both showed the effects of altitude and sunshine with pronounced tannins, matched by fresh and red fruits. A blend of these varieties with Syrah was easy drinking, but Les Celliers de Vétroz Syrah 2020 was stunning. Fabulous intense aromas and flavours of mulberry, blackberry, smoke, and beautiful balance between fine ripe tannins and fresh acidity. This wine won a gold medal at the Syrah du Monde in 2018.
We finished with two sweet wines, both made from Amigne, a variety native to the Valais, vaguely related to Chardonnay according to Wine-Searcher. Its loose bunches avert rot, so can stay on the vine longer, and can be made into late harvest or passito wines. Both had complex aromas and flavours including mandarin, apricot, baked apple, honey, and even coffee and savoury notes. They were gorgeous, and I was very glad I had saved the best till last and did not spit these out.
Tim doesn’t stock any Swiss wines, but several wines at this tasting can be sourced from Alpine Wines/Yorkshire Vintners, and Celliers de Vétroz will ship from Switzerland. Be warned, though, price tags for the ones I waxed lyrical about are closer to £50 than £20.
More to the point, who is up for a wine tour to Switzerland? Let’s start a campaign – email us with your thoughts!
