May and early June are for me the in-between time for wines, too cool to sip whites all evening outdoors but a night of red can feel like too much – we want to move on after a winter of them.
I dropped in briefly at the end of a day of tasting organized by Swiss Wine Selection in Tolochenaz earlier this month. Family duties limited the time I had to sample the wines, too bad, as the company works with a very good group of Swiss wineries. The wine tasting was held at Le Clos du Rosay, a B&B that would tempt me strongly if I were considering a weekend to explore La Côte’s wines (the large garden with pool has a view to Lake Geneva; they host group events, as well).
Tolochenaz is home to Cave de la Côte, the local cooperative that is also one of Switzerland’s top wineries, with a huge selection of its own wines and others, in the shop. Morges, with its excellent collection of wineries, is just 3km away.
Geneva Sauvignon to start
Back to what to drink at the end of May, start of June. The perfect solution is one white, one red (I hope you’re not home alone?) and I found two I loved that worked well. The white is from Dardagny in canton Geneva, a 2016 Sauvignon from Domaine Dugerdil. Clean, sharp, fruit – I found apricot notes mainly, with hints of pear, and Sophie Dugerdil also mentions grapefruit, which was less obvious to me. The mouth is special: citrusy and long to very long. A great way to kick off a weekend night, and I’d like a stock for summer sundowners. Cellar price CHF18, very good for this quality.
Red from Schaffhausen to continue
“Albi” Pinot Noir Klettgau 2016 from Weingut Besson-Strasser, north of Zurich in Schaffhausen, is a lusciously rich oaked red; I’d be tempted to cradle it and keep it near all evening. Violets, cherries, blueberries, the promise of summer to come, a touch of smokiness and silky smoothness. A wine that is easy to love and sure to put you in a frame of mind to talk about something more invigorating and uplifting than politics.
Biodynamic winery with top quality wines. This one is oaked for 12-18 months, best drunk in 3-7 years, according to the winery’s web site. CHF32
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