WTN: Two other excellent wines from Valais, Switzerland.

This supplements my recent report on the wines of Valais, Switzerland.
There are more of these wines untried with food to come.


“VUEGE” GAMARET D’ENTREMONT 2005 – AOC Vollèges Valais – Jean-René Germanier, Vétroz, Valais.

Gamaret is another grape variety found only in Switzerland, as far as I know. It is a cross between Gamay and Reichensteiner (white) designed for earlier ripening and more rot resistance than Gamay. On this evidence it tastes pretty good, too.

C: Deep ruby with purple notes. N: Ripe red fruit with an ivy and tobacco tang. P: Juicy and chewy red fruit again with ivy and tobacco notes, vigour, nice savoury grip and a good mouth-fill. Not especially refined but hugely enjoyable with robust food. The derivation from Gamay is clear but, in this example, with more structure and none of those banana notes which disfigure a lot of Beaujolais.


SYRAH 2003 - Fût de chêne- Les Coteaux de Sierre- AOC Valais- Cave l’Or du Vent- Bernard Mermoud, Veyras-Miège.

I am always suspicious of wines which vaunt their oak ageing and prizes (2006 Nobilis d’Or) like this one. However, I bought it on the recommendation of the boss of the Tirebouchon wine-bar in Montana and he was right. However I was expecting a vanillin and blockbusting fruit-bomb and it took me a moment to adjust to its welcome but more restrained style.

C: Deep ruby. N: Quite subdued with rich cherry and ivy notes. P: Much quieter on the palate than I had been expecting and, like on the nose, aromatically somewhat subdued but beautifully velvety, harmonious and “sweet” with ripe structure and very good length and not disfigured by candied and/or malt notes like many other 2003s from France and Italy. The oak ageing had been well managed and wood flavours were fully integrated and hard to detect. The wine went very well with duck.

The relationship with Northern Rhône in France is apparent (this is, of course, also the Rhône valley further up-stream) but the wine is riper with less tension than most of those, although this may be a 2003 effect. It is hard to detect anything specifically Swiss or Valaisan about this Syrah, unlike wines from the indigenous red grapes Cornalin, Gamaret and Humagne, but that does not detract from its quality.

Since we're talking about Switzerland perhaps someone reading this topic can offer advice about wine in Ticino. Yes, I understand it's about 90% Merlot and no, I have no real fondness for Merlot. But when in Rome... And I'm going to be in Ticino... Some reasonably priced suggestions that reflect some of the variety available would be appreciated.

I'm not a big fan of Merlot, either. I've found the few Ticino Merlots which i have tried when passing through rather boring (as indeed I have disappointingly just found tonight a Merlot based Château Saint-Pierre Pomerol 1990).

What I can do tomorrow is to dig out recent editions of Guide Hachette which covers Switzerland and Luxemburg as well as France, and pass on some of tgheir recommendations.

Since we're talking about Switzerland perhaps someone reading this topic can offer advice about wine in Ticino. Yes, I understand it's about 90% Merlot and no, I have no real fondness for Merlot. But when in Rome... And I'm going to be in Ticino... Some reasonably priced suggestions that reflect some of the variety available would be appreciated.

Dan,

Guido Brivio makes some utterly fantastic Merlot down in Ticino. Reasonably priced? Nothing in Switzerland is cheap, but you should probably be able to find it in Lugano for 50-60 CHF retail. There is also plenty of opportunity for decent Merlot by-the-glass. Try also Merlot Bianco. They are very proud of it. Have fun!

Here are the recommendations for Ticino in Guide Hachette's 2007 edition.

***

Sassi Neri Merlot del Ticino 2003, Gialdi S.A., Mendrisio (EUR 23-30)
Merlot del Ticino Culdrée 2004, Tenuta Tripletti, Coldrerio (EUR 30-38)

**

EUR 23-30 (approx CHF 35-45)
Merlot del Ticino Riflessi d'Epoca 2003, Guido Brivio, Mendrisio
Mezzanotte Merlot del Ticino 2004, Othmar Amstutz, Gordola

EUR 15-23 (approx CHF 23-35)
Agra Merlot del T Réserve-barrique 2003, Pelossi, Lugano-Pazallo
Rossi di sera (Merlot) 2002, E&F Klausener, Purasca
Lenéo Merlot del T Riserva 2003, Fratelli Corti, Balerna
Merlot del T Riserva 2002, Tenuta Montalbano, Mendrisio
Morcorte Merlot del T 2004, Vini Tamborini, Lamone
Tre Rocche Merlot del T 2003, Cantina Pizzorin, sementina
Castelrotto Merlot del T 2003, Tenuta Vallombrosa, Lamone
Vindala Merlot del T 2004, Cantina Settemaggio, Montecarasso

It looks as if Mendrisio would be good hunting ground. It is conveniently located next to the A2 autostrada some 6km North of the Italian frontier at Chiasso.

Guide Hachette also provides exact addresses, E-mails, phone numbers, etc. together with brief tasting notes. if you want any, please let me know.

There probably also exist wine shops, like the Château de Villa at Sierre in Valais, which provide comprehensive selections of the region's wines. I will dig a little on the web to see if I can find something similar.

I can strongly recommendation the food and wine selection at the Motta del Gallo restaurant at Taverne near Lugano. Not too easy to find, though, and not cheap. Getting the sommelier's recommendations and perhaps introductions from a restaurant like this is another good way to locate interesting bottles.

Many thanks Tim and Bill. It looked to me also that Mendrisio is the wine center. We'll be headquartered in Locarno and anticipate spending most of our time wandering through the valleys to the north. We do plan to get down to the Lugano area for at least a couple of days. Although we won't have a car, passes for the Swiss bus/train system are part of the deal and should serve as well.

Surprise us with both your reds and whites Ticino!

Have happy wine hunting, Dan.

As to shops, Guido Brivio has one in Mendrisio which appears to supply wines of other growers as well as his own - http://www.brivio.ch -

The Swiss public transport system is very reliable but obviously does not give you the flexibility of a car.