WHITES
Apart from the "traditional" wines such as Fendant, Dôle or Pinot Noir, well-known beyond its borders, Valais has a multitude of specialities that the curious connoisseur will not fail to discover or introduce you to. Such is the case, for example, with the Small or Petite Arvine, originating in the area around Martigny. This is an indigenous vintage, nowhere else to be found in the world. It is one of the oldest cultivated in the canton. It currently represents 0.3 % of cantonal production and this share is tending to increase. It produces a grape reserved for the vat, it gives a vigorous and virile wine, with a particularly salty tang and overtones of grapefruit and exotic fruits such as pineapple or mango. Severe climatic and pedological requirements limit the production area to the warmer areas and gravelly soil of central Valais. It lends itself well to the withered grape harvest which gives a rich and sensual wine.
We should also mention the Johannisberg, introduced into the Valais around 1870. The "Schloss Johannisber", property of the Princes Metternich, in Geissheim, originating in the Rheingau area gave it its name. It is stored in vats and requires heat and the best soils in the canton. Its preferred soils are the alluvial cones. It is a balanced wine, although of average acidity, the marrowy characteristic reaches its full expression if left to over-ripen on the vine. It is a wine with a hint of spices, crystallized and grilled almonds and, if it is vinified faded, it can take more than 15 years in the cellar where it then develops overtones of honeys, oranges and dried apricots.
Less known, perhaps, is the Amigne which gives a wine with a whiff of lime and tangerine. It lends itself very well to over-ripening and, thus vinified, can be stored for over 10 years. It is sometimes touched by the hand of the noble goddess of botrytis that gives it something divine.
REDS
The Syrah, originating in the Côtes-du-Rhone, appeared in Valais about 1920. These grapes are reserved for the vat. Syrah gives very good results in the Valais and its use in vineyards is tending to increase. Syrah gives a vigorous, powerful wine, original in nature, and fruitily spiced. Its fine tannic pulp and good acidity suits it beautifully for ageing. Matured in oaken barrels, it is formed of a happy blend of vine and wood.
Cornalin, originating in the Aosta Valley in Italy, has been present in Valais since the 18th century. It is also called Rouge du pays in central Valais or Landroter in Upper-Valais. A closely-related vintage, called Durize, is cultivated on some plots in Fully. These grapes reserved for the vat, are of poor yield, about 600-800 grams per square metre. Cornalin wine, a speciality produced exclusively in Valais, is tangy, spiced and floral. It has hints of bitter almond, undergrowth and morello cherries. It has a considerable potential shelf life and even prefers to wait 23 years to be opened. These are just a few examples. On the whole, there exist nearly 740 owner-cellarmen in Valais. Behind the great names of wine making there is also a mass of connoisseurs ready to share their love of wine and their harvest.
|
