A trip to Domaine de Chèrouche
The Snow’s Arrived
A wet and autumnal day greet us when we arrived in Ayent , Snow had already fallen above 1500 meters , Quite a change from the last 10 years or so , in which snow has not arrived until or after Christmas .
Domaine de Chèrouche is only a few kilometres east of Sion, A 12 minute drive up the winding road ,a truly magnificent drive through stepped vineyards. based in Ayent Switzerland.
Chercouche is one of the best natural winemakers in Switzerland, very low key and extremely small amounts of wine .
I heard about Chercouche from Selma and Therry of Le Bois Dieu a few years ago , but there name kept on popping when speaking to natural vinegrons throughout France ,
A quite low down couple Marc Balzan and Andrea Grossmann ,you’ll be hard pressed to find there wine in the Valais in wine bars or restaurants , Natural wine is still very much a rare commodities in the Valais ..few stock there wine.. different story in france or the US and Canada , where you will find it the top restaurants , from New york to Vancouver and Tokyo
One of the best kept secrets in the Swiss wine world , you won’t find them at even Natural wine fairs in Switzerland , no Insta or social or conventional media marketing.
I guess they don’t need to or don’t want to.. They participated in the First Brut -Es in Mulhouse , but none after that..if you want to buy there wine you’ll have to send them and email and visit as they don’t ship either .
Normally producing only a few thousand litres in any given year , in 2020 the lost most of there harvest to mildew. and could only make 300 litres in total..
There were also an American Sommelier and her friend arrived for a tasting also , Keen to taste the Macerated orange wine that they had tasted in Zurich , turns out a good friend of Nomas’ Somm , Everybody seems to be !!, interestingly informing us that Noma will stay open for the Immediate future due to having some 76,000 bottles of wine in the cellar that they need to shift!
Terraced Vines of the Valais
Farmed on very stepped slopes , everything is done by hand , or ploughed with horse , no mechanical usage in the vineyards orin the celler. due to the impossibility due to the terrain .
In the Cave
Normally producing only a few thousand litres in any given year , in 2020 the lost most of there harvest to mildew. and could only make 300 litres in total..
They farm Amigne a common swiss grape grown from around Saillion region . A Swiss wine grape planted primarily in the Valais region, with most of the plantations in Vetroz and upwards to wards leuk. Amigne Grape that is prolific around Vetroz UC Davis sampled it’s DNA and it was found to indicated a parent-offspring relationship between Amigne and Petit Meslier.
The Cellar under the House , everything in close proximity ..
We tasted a Fantastic Chardonnay , lovely tart and buttery , a new cute for this year , changing the Cuvees every year depending on Yields
Noces - Pinot Noir , normally blended at a 20% Gamay and 80% Pinot , although this changes every year , depending on yields. This year it was a straight up Pinot Noir.
Another stunner of a wine.
Gamay Vielle Vins , old gamy from 60 year old plants which is quite old for the Valais , due to the harsh climate the vines have to be super hardy , can get down to minus 15 in the Winter and up to 40 plus in the summer in rare occasions.
Tanks all juiced up
all wines aged for 11-12 months in tanks or Inox.
