Grain Ermitage Dom. des Claves President Troillet Marie-Therese Chappaz 2016 biodynamic wine, full bodied, oak aged, layered, expressive, and delicious. 95% Marsanne (called Ermitage in the region) from vines planted in the 1920s taken from cuttings from the Rhone Valley in France. The inspiration for this wine lies in the history of the domaine when Maurice Troillet, politician and Great Uncle to Marie Therese brought barrels of wine from the Rhone to bottle and drink at his home in Fully. He loved the wine so much, he decided to plant some Marsanne vines and they have endured. The vines on granitic soils produce wines of immense complexity and depth with good acidity and structure. As such they take well to new oak barrels in which they are aged for a year to eighteen months. Expressive nose with aromas of prune, mace and truffle. The palate is marked by its generosity and concentration matched by its freshness and minerality. According to Marie-Therese, a glass of Grain Ermitage with a slice of good Gruyere is wine and gastronomy in perfect harmony.
Domaine Marie-Therese Chappaz, lies on the south facing slopes of the beautiful Valais region of Switzerland just above the town of Fully. Wine production in the region dates back to the 2nd century BC and the vines carpet the lower slopes of the high mountains and climb as high as 1150 msl. The climate is hot in the summer and bitterly cold in winter with over 300 days of sunshine per year. The mountains provide a diverse terroir including loess, granit, alluvial and clay, limestone with a multitude of grapes from the well known Gamay and Pinot Noir to lesser known Cornalin and Petite Arvine. These conditions and such diversity make for a wide range of wine styles and exciting flavours.
Marie Therese took over her family estate when it was just 1.5 hectares back in the mid 80s and has worked biodynamically for over 20 years. She has built a reputation for elegant, crystalline wines with depth and style which drink well young but also age well. Her passion and commitment to quality have earned her international recognition and in 2016, her estate was listed in the Gault Millau guide as one of the best 100 wineries in the world. Today she farms 11 hectares of vines on the slopes above her house in Fully and in the nearby villages, Charrat, Leytron and Chamoson, 5 of which are only reachable on foot or in a small cable car. Now on her 31st vintage, she continues to produce over 20 different Cuvee of world class wine which are highly sort after all over Switzerland and around the world.
