Marie-Thérèse Chappaz Grain Pinot 'Les Esserts' 2021

12 bottles available – max. 2 bottles per customer

Since inheriting a garden-sized plot of Pinot Noir in the mid-1980s, “Queen of the Valais” Marie-Thérèse Chappaz has built one of the region’s most compelling domaines from scratch, demonstrating the world-class capabilities of Swiss wine with her diverse line-up of beautifully crafted cuvées.

A biodynamic champion who fully converted her estate in 2003, Marie-Thérèse now farms 11ha of vines situated around a natural granite amphitheatre above the villages of Fully, Saillon, Chamoson, and Charrat. Many of these sites are reachable only on foot or by cable car and require laborious and costly vineyard work to maintain.

From 25 grape varieties Marie-Thérèse makes more than 20 different cuvées, which she vinifies as naturally as possible at her winery. For whites, these include genre-defining Fendants (Chasselas), gourmand takes on Ermitage (Marsanne), and an array of Arvines, including the unctuously sweet ‘Grain Noble’, which is often compared with top Sauternes. She also crafts fragrant and spicy Pinot Noirs, tangy Gamays, as well as alpine-fresh Syrahs.

As the domaine’s annual production is typically purchased before bottling by a thirsty domestic market, few outsiders ever see, let alone drink, Chappaz’s wines. With Marie-Thérèse recently becoming the first Swiss winemaker to achieve a 100-point score, these bottles have only become rarer. Don’t miss out.

Pinot Noir from Chappaz’s original vineyard site. Charming red fruit aromatics alongside menthol lift. Silky and pure. 92 Points, Robert Parker