GENEVA, SWITZERLAND /AMONG THE VINES – The second annual world wine competition for Chasselas, a white grape variety that is well known to anyone who has enjoyed the aperitif hour in Switzerland, turned up some surprises Friday evening in Aigle, canton Vaud.
The world champion at the Mondial du Chasselas is German, overtaking scores of top wines from the Lake Geneva region, birthplace of this grape (centuries ago) and generally recognized as its main growing area.
The wine with the highest number of points is a 1984 Chasselas from Dézaley, unusual for a grape with a popular reputation in France and Italy as a table grape and in Switzerland as a light aperitif wine made to be drunk young.
The winner of the press prize, selected by journalists who have mostly grown up on Vaud and Valais Chasselas wines and have a taste for them, is a Neuchatel wine.
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The competition saw 638 wines registered, a hefty but not surprising 569 of them in the category of dry wines (also entered: sweet wines, older vintages, “special” vinification wines). Swiss wines accounted for 593 of those entered, and Vaud alone had 437. A surprise, however, if you think Vaud has only white and mainly Chasselas wines – red wines are one-third of the canton’s total.
Public can sample the wines Saturday in Aigle
You can test your own nose and taste buds against those of the judges, with the winning wines available to the public today, Saturday 6 July, at the Fête du Chasselas at the Chateau d’Aigle. The castle, surrounded by vines, is not far from the eastern edge of Lake Geneva, a short train ride or car trip from Montreux, for those planning to attend concerts Saturday evening. Entrance CHF20, hours 10-18:00, food and entertainment plus visits to the chateau, which houses an excellent, interactive vine and wine museum and a walk along a path with panels that explain the winemaking process.
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Chasselas, now clearly a wine for all occasions
Never fear, those of you who are partial to a fine Vaud Chasselas: more than one-third of the winners of both gold and silver medals were from Vaud – and that’s before including the Terravin wines which are the top of the top Vaud wines.
The competition demonstrates that the grape is gaining recognition more widely than in French-speaking Switzerland, and as far more than an aperitif wine. A strength of Chasselas is that it is a terroir grape par excellence: what you smell and taste can vary enormously depending on where the grapes are grown. A Chasselas from Geneva, such as the finalist from Les Hutins, grapes grown in Dardagny, may be more floral than one from Dézaley, notable for its mineral touch (a bit more zip, for those who aren’t into winespeak) and the fruit notes in
Sommelier and manager Jerome Aké of the renowned restaurant L’Auberge de l’Onde in St Saphorin, near Vevey, recounted during the awards ceremony how, as a young sommelier he would offer a fine local Chasselas to English-speaking diners, then as time for the red meat course drew near he would try to encourage them to switch to a bigger red wine, with little success. He had guests who would order a costly and special Chateaubriand only to insist on drinking a Chasselas with it, to his surprise. He eventually decided maybe these customers were right although their choices didn’t fit with what he’d learned, and he discovered the beauty of a top Chasselas with a fine steak and just “a thin line of fleur de sel” and a little pepper ground over the top.
Top 10 wines in the main “dry wines” category
(points out of 100 at the end)
Ehrenstetter Ölberg Chasslie trocken Baden Markgräflerland 2012, Bezirkskellerei Markgräflerland 92.4
Saint-Livres La Côte St-Livres Grand cru 2012, Pellet Luc 92.3
Blanche Loye Neuchâtel 2011, Caves de Chambleau 92.2
Lutry Tradition L avaux Lutry 2012, Terres de Lavaux / Viticole de Lutry 92.2
Clos Maijoz Chablais Aigle 2011, Commune d’Aigle 92
St-Saphorin Lavaux St-Saphorin 2012, Domaine Bovy 92
Les Murailles Chablais Aigle 2009, Badoux Vins SA 91.8
Dézaley-Marsens de la Tour Lavaux Dézaley-Marsens Grand cru 2011, L es Frères Dubois 91.6
Olivine Lavaux Dézaley Grand cru 2012, Duboux Claude & Alexandre 91.6
Les Murailles Chablais Aigle 2012, Badoux Vins SA 91.4
Complete list of winners (pdf)