Grain Pinot "Les Esserts" - 2020 - Marie Thérèse Chappaz

100% Pinot Noir from biodynamic vines, planted on limestone soils on the plot of Charrat Les Esserts. This is historically the first plot worked by Marie-Thérèse, a small vine inherited from her father. Vinification: total destemming, 20 days of vatting with daily punching down, soft pressing, blending of free-run and press juices, one year of aging in 228-litre barrels, 25% new barrels, 25% one-wine barrels, 25% two-wine barrels and 25% older barrels. Sensible use of sulfites.

Marie-Thérèse Chappaz – a pure, sincere, natural soul... and Switzerland’s star winemaker. Today a torchbearer for biodynamic viticulture, she has been vinifying on her 10-hectare estate in the canton of Valais, in Fully, since 1989. It’s a family estate, formerly run by her great-uncle, Maurice Troillet, who passed away in 1961. Respected outside of the wine world as well, Troillet was a former President of the Valais Conseil d'état. Today, many of the estate’s cuvées carry his name: Président Troillet, etc.... Today, Chappaz is renowned in her own right, named Switzerland’s winemaker of the year in 1996 by Gault et millau, awarded the Prix d’Excellence Lalique-Villa d’Este “Lady of Wine” in 2015, and the 2016 Icône des vins Suisses... indeed, Marie-Thérèse no longer needs any introduction. But despite her star status, Chappaz, the queen of home-brewed herbal vine treatments, is still happiest at home amidst her vines, cultivating biodiversity. A final word: the wines of Marie-Thérèse Chappaz are already very rare in Switzerland and almost impossible to find outside the country. So let us say ‘Merci, Madame!’for entrusting some of your precious bottles with us!