Swiss Wines from Caroline Frey

Caroline Frey refers to cornalin as a diva of a grape variety, capricious and needing a lot of attention! Persevere, however, and the resulting wine can offer so much enjoyment and pleasure. The grapes for this wine come from three different parcels; Les Perches with its gneiss and limestone, Chavannes with mainly alluvial soil and some limestone and Rossetan, on a very steep and stony hillside. This red is dense and full of liquorice and spices. The acidity is crisp and behind the bramble fruits is a salinity that brings real energy to the palate. The wine spends 12 months in French barrels prior to bottling, imbuing it with plenty of spice and breadth. Drink this year to 2033. 14%

Humagne rouge is one of the indigenous varieties of the Valais region in Switzerland and is one that Caroline Frey is fully embracing having taken over this tiny six-hectare estate. Caroline says that it is a delicate grape to work with but one that offers so much charm. The first parcel is located in the commune of Fully, at the lieu-dit Les Perches, where the soils consist mainly of gneiss with loess and slightly calcareous moraines. The second parcel lies in the commune of Leytron, on an alluvial cone containing about 17% limestone. The wine spends 12 months in barrel, of which 20% is new French oak. Very pale in colour, this red is dominated by red fruits and herbal hints with a tangy acidity and fine chalky tannins. Drink this year to 2032. 14%

Since departing Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aîné, La Lagune and Chateau Corton C., Caroline Frey took over the six-hectare Cave Benoît Dorsaz estate, and is now focusing on producing Swiss wines. This petite arvine comes from plantings from 1930 and 2001 in the commune of Fully. The terraces are steep and the soil is complex, principally loess and gneiss. Aged exclusively in stainless steel, with some lees ageing to add some texture, this is a pure and focused white wine with an attractive texture, white-pepper complexity and a saline finish. Drink this year to 2032. 14%

Caroline may be fully immersed in the indigenous varieties of Switzerland, but her love affair with syrah still continues. This syrah is a selection massale from the Sereine variety from the Côte-Rôtie slopes of Bernard Grippa and René Rostaing. The grapes come from the Les Perches vineyard with a complex terroir of loess, gneiss and limestone as well as from Combe de la Tornayre, with similar soils but with a deeper soil profile. The wine spends 12 months in barrel, of which 20% new. Lots of spice, violets and red-berry perfume with a chalky, fine-grained tannin grip. Drink this year to 2031. 13.5%