Domaines Rouvinez, Coeur de Domaine, Valais 2019 (13.6%)

rouvinez.com

None of us know. Only the Swiss know. And yet, by dint of recent entries to the DWWA, the secret is slowly seeping out: some of Europe’s finest, subtlest, most intricately crafted and most quietly satisfying white wine blends come into being in the Alpine valleys of Valais and elsewhere. You won’t often come across Petite Arvine with Savagnin (locally called Heida) and Marsanne. Smell this pale gold wine, with its notes of pear and nectarine, gently creamed and vanillainfused via subtle barrel fermentation, and taste its concentration, force and freshness combined with what can only be described as a marrowy, sappy richness, and the doubts will slip away.

Yes, the prices are Swiss – but there are other Best in Show wines in that same price bracket. In qualitative terms this remarkable wine stands fairly alongside them.

Established in 1947 and now into its third generation of family ownership, Domaines

Rouvinez ranks as the largest owner of vines in Valais, a region that contributes one third of Switzerland’s entire production.

The vineyards of Valais follow the river Rhône for more than 100km, encountering a rich assortment of soils and reaching heights of 1,100m. The Alps keep rainfall at arm’s length for much of the year, meaning that Valais is, by some distance, Switzerland’s driest region; moreover, the warm Foehn wind further nudges along ripening and bolsters Valais’ reputation as a grape-growing nirvana.

The triumvirate of grapes used in Coeur de Domaine – Petite Arvine (60%), Païen (30%) and Marsanne (10%) – are sourced from three separate sites, taking advantage of Valais’ variety of terroirs. ‘It is a selection of the best bunches, harvested at the heart of our most renowned domaines,’ the company says.

Crafted from fruit treated with kid gloves from start to finish, the wine is aged for 12 months in large casks made from Swiss oak.