AOC Valais Pinot Noir Domaine De Beudon 2013

AOC Valais Pinot Noir Domaine De Beudon, biodynamic wine, very low yields, concentrated yet elegant Pinot Noir. The nose is of dried fruits, prunes, fruit staunched in alcohol, the palate is almost sweet in attack then full-bodied, lightly tannic on the finish with a slight bitterness that bring a Coq au Vin to life. A Pinot Noir that lies somewhere between Burgundy and Central Otago in style, absolutely delicious and rare wine.

Domaine de Beudon is a remarkable place; a tiny farm perched on the steep side of the Swiss Alps, removed from the world and locally known as the “vineyard in the sky”.

Located above the village of Fully, “there are two ways to visit us,” explains owner Marion Granges. “One is by small cable car or you can walk for an hour via steep mountain tracks.” Domaine de Beudon is the only wine grower there. Produced in tiny quantities, from just a 6-hectare estate, Beudon wine very rarely makes it out of Switzerland and onto the international market. Cultivating vines there is highly challenging, every wine lives on steep rocky soil. Since 1992, the Granges family has been religiously applying biodynamic viticulture and organic practices. Producing biodynamic wines almost feel like a visceral need for the Granges family, it is about making a statement that if it’s possible in Beudon, then it can be done anywhere. All ferments are naturally started, there is no added sugar or human intervention, only Mother Nature. The Beudon vineyards produce Pinot Noir, Gamay, Humagne Rouge and the two local crossings Diolinoir and Gamaret. The white-wine varieties are Petite Arvine, Fendant and Riesling-Sylvaner. The wines taste as pure as the mountain air that vines thrive in. In youth, they are deliciously light if not a little austere and quiet. With age, they become something quite special and would rival many old vintages from more illustrious appellations over the border in France.