{"id":9861,"date":"2006-08-14T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2006-08-14T12:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/thomasvino\/?p=9861"},"modified":"2006-08-14T12:15:00","modified_gmt":"2006-08-14T12:15:00","slug":"valais-the-nec-plus-ultra-of-valais-wine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861","title":{"rendered":"Valais \u2014 The \u00abnec plus ultra\u00bb of Valais wine"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ten years of the Grain Noble ConfidenCiel charter<\/font>
The \u201cnec plus ultra\u201d <\/font>
of Valais wine<\/font>
Some 30 Valais vineyards produce and develop superb liqueur-like wines (liquoreux) but only in limited quantities. In 1986 the Charter of Grain Noble ConfidenCiel set up a framework for the high quality of these rare wines.<\/span>
Most Valais winemakers offer wines with a range of sweetness and strength; in this part of Switzerland they are accustomed to a diversity that is unique in the world (white, red, ros\u00e9 and sweet). \u201cThe Charter has brought about a refocusing of the wines\u201d says Gilles Besse in V\u00e9troz. Until 1997, his amigne Mitis, one of the liquoreux produced on a large scale (30 barrels of 225 litres in an average year) was a product of \u201ccryo-extraction technology, pressed from frozen grapes.\u201d But since ten years he has followed the strict criteria of the Charter: over-ripening the grapes on the plant, and a restriction to only six varieties (amigne, arvine, ermitage, pinot gris, sylvaner and pa\u00efen).
Accepting the responsibilities of rarity<\/span>
The age of the vines is fixed at fifteen years, which effectively prevents any dreams of a huge expansion. Despite her great success, Marie-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Chappaz hardly produces any more than when she started in 1988: three to five barrels of marsanne and one to three of arvine. She could easily sell three times as much but there\u2019s no prospect of that. \u201cThese wines are made differently. We try to be creative, it\u2019s the dreamer in us\u201d she explains. Thierry Constantin agrees: \u201cWe do it for pleasure. It\u2019s a kind of philosophy\u201d.
But the charter has changed some things in its ten years. Winemakers used to expect that nature would give the wine all the strength it needed for a liquoreux. \u201cWe have all moved forward. I now know a lot more about the phenomenon of noble rot\u201d Marie-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se admits. \u201cIt\u2019s fundamental to making a good wine. But it\u2019s not just the Botrytis. We have always had shrivelled grapes in the Valais and the varieties react differently. Ermitage develops more botrytis than the little arvine or the malvoisie (pinot gris). It\u2019s the balance between the elements that creates a great liquoreux.\u201d
Each year is different<\/span>
Philippe Darioli explains this balance with a complicated formula. \u201cMy little arvine 2004 rates 180\u00b0 Oechsle, 9 g of acidity, 12.8\u00b0 alcohol and 195 g of residual sugar.\u201d He explains how hazardous it is. The grapes are picked late, generally between the end of October as in 1994 and the end of December as in 1996, so there\u2019s the risk of rain and snow. What you really need is a wet Autumn with alternate warm winds and storms, so that the botrytis develops. \u201cYou have to accept the variations between vintages. You mustn\u2019t blend out the differences between years\u201d emphasizes Marie-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se.
Today, she and others pick in several stages, sometimes as many as four, in order to carefully select the grapes that have developed Botrytis and those that have shrivelled. But for Robert Taramarcaz, of the Domaine des Muses, there\u2019s no contest between the natural, albeit unreliable methods and the \u201cindustrial\u201d techniques (drying off the plant, concentration by inverse osmosis or high pressure, and cryo-extraction). \u201cEven if the botrytis erases the flavour of the grape variety, it is worth it to obtain the complexity of the wine.\u201d
Extended maturing in barrels<\/span>
The charter requires that the wines must mature patiently in oak barrels; they may not be put on the market until at least 18 months after harvesting. \u201cWe will go to 24, even 36, months in the barrel. This gives us more stable wines with a lovely colour. And because they are filtered as little as possible we avoid the risk of refermentation.\u201d
Patiently matured, the liquoreux are made to last; \u201cMy 94s are not ready! They can be good for twenty years and more\u201d says Marie-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se. But do these wines have a future? The winemaker from Fully doesn\u2019t hide the fact that some customers are asking for a dessert wine that\u2019s lighter and more easily digested, as well as being brighter and sweeter.
The Austrian temptation<\/span>
The target is the Austrian style: less than 10\u00b0 alcohol but with high sweetness. \u201cThe fashion at present is for less alcohol, more acidity. But if I want my late-picked ermitage at 200\u00b0 Oechsl\u00e9 to have only 8\u00b0 alcohol, I\u2019ll only get syrup\u201d says Philippe Darioli. \u201cRichness does not exclude freshness.\u201d
When should these wines be drunk? Always a thorny question. Rapha\u00ebl Gaudin, ex-sommelier at the Pont-de-Brent who is now in the wine trade in Monthey (VS) has his answer \u201cI stopped trying to match dishes and wines with the great liquoreux a long time ago. They are a dessert in themselves\u201d. The Italians call them \u201cMeditation Wines\u201d but this limits their commercial success. \u201cWe only sell in 50 cl bottles and 37.5 cl half bottles\u201d says Simon Lambiel, director of the Domaine de Mont d\u2019Or. \u201cTwenty years ago, apart from us, nobody was really selling much over-ripened wine. But the market has grown; more and more cellars are offering it now.\u201d
A symbolic presence<\/span>
The niche markets may not be any bigger but there are more of them. The clients are still those who are passionate about wine. But there\u2019s little interest from restaurants except for the \u201cGrandes Tables.\u201d
This doesn\u2019t stop the Charter from introducing itself at important events in Spain and Italy as well as at VINEA in Sierre in the first week of September. And to celebrate its tenth anniversary, the Charter is planning several prestige tastings. It hopes to create some fruitful ties with Sapros \u201cthe botrytis wine club\u201d founded in France in 2001, which inspired the Valaisan initiative and brings together the international leaders of the liquoreux.<\/p>\n

Web sites:<\/span>
www.grainnoble.ch<\/a>
www.sapros.org<\/a>
www.mdvs.ch<\/a><\/p>\n

High flyers among
the \u201cGrains Nobles\u201d<\/font>
The reliable names<\/span>
Among the most widely sold liquoreux (but still less than 10,000 litres per year): the amigne Mitis from Jean-Ren\u00e9 Germanier in Vetroz and the Grains Nobles from the Rouvinez brothers in Sierre. Also the Johannisberg Saint-Martin from Domaine du Mont-d\u2019Or, and the Tourbillon from Provins-Valais, an ermitage made from old vines.
The rarest<\/span>
Grain Noble of Marie-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Chappaz in Fully.
The amigne surmatur\u00e9e from Fabienne Cottagnoud, Cave des Tilleuls in V\u00e9troz<\/p>\n

The liveliest<\/span>
Domaine Cornulus, of St\u00e9phane Reynard and Dany Varone, in Savi\u00e8se, offers three extraordinary liquoreux: Essence of Botrytis, Clos Corbassi\u00e8res and the ermitage Octoglaive.
A magnificent Ermitage from Denis Mercier in Sierre.
The most distinctive<\/span>
Grain de Folie from Benoit Dorsaz in Fully.
Larme de d\u00e9cembre from Thierry Constantin in Pont-de-la-Morge.
L\u2019Ermitage, petite arvine and Vent d\u2019Anges from Philippe Darioli in Riddes.<\/p>\n

Newcomers<\/span>
Polymnie-S\u00e9duction from Robert
Taramarcaz in Sierre. Valorine from F. Varone in Sion
Marsanne Tardive from Maurice Giroud et fils of La Siseranche in Chamoson.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ten years of the Grain Noble ConfidenCiel charter The \u201cnec plus ultra\u201d of Valais wine Some 30 Valais vineyards produce and develop superb liqueur-like wines (liquoreux) but only in limited quantities. In 1986 the Charter of Grain Noble ConfidenCiel set up a framework for the high quality of these rare wines. Most Valais winemakers offer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nValais \u2014 The \u00abnec plus ultra\u00bb of Valais wine - thomasvino<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Valais \u2014 The \u00abnec plus ultra\u00bb of Valais wine - thomasvino\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ten years of the Grain Noble ConfidenCiel charter The \u201cnec plus ultra\u201d of Valais wine Some 30 Valais vineyards produce and develop superb liqueur-like wines (liquoreux) but only in limited quantities. In 1986 the Charter of Grain Noble ConfidenCiel set up a framework for the high quality of these rare wines. Most Valais winemakers offer […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"thomasvino\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-08-14T12:15:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pierre Thomas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u00c9crit par\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pierre Thomas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861\",\"name\":\"Valais \u2014 The \u00abnec plus ultra\u00bb of Valais wine - thomasvino\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-08-14T12:15:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2006-08-14T12:15:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#\/schema\/person\/670bf4486fe81152cf1d68bd585e062e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Valais \u2014 The \u00abnec plus ultra\u00bb of Valais wine\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/\",\"name\":\"thomasvino\",\"description\":\"Vins & Gastronomie\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#\/schema\/person\/670bf4486fe81152cf1d68bd585e062e\",\"name\":\"Pierre Thomas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/91fd5a76647f140e53db987a0dead4d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/91fd5a76647f140e53db987a0dead4d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Pierre Thomas\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Valais \u2014 The \u00abnec plus ultra\u00bb of Valais wine - thomasvino","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Valais \u2014 The \u00abnec plus ultra\u00bb of Valais wine - thomasvino","og_description":"Ten years of the Grain Noble ConfidenCiel charter The \u201cnec plus ultra\u201d of Valais wine Some 30 Valais vineyards produce and develop superb liqueur-like wines (liquoreux) but only in limited quantities. In 1986 the Charter of Grain Noble ConfidenCiel set up a framework for the high quality of these rare wines. Most Valais winemakers offer […]","og_url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861","og_site_name":"thomasvino","article_published_time":"2006-08-14T12:15:00+00:00","author":"Pierre Thomas","twitter_misc":{"\u00c9crit par":"Pierre Thomas","Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861","url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861","name":"Valais \u2014 The \u00abnec plus ultra\u00bb of Valais wine - thomasvino","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#website"},"datePublished":"2006-08-14T12:15:00+00:00","dateModified":"2006-08-14T12:15:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#\/schema\/person\/670bf4486fe81152cf1d68bd585e062e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9861#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Valais \u2014 The \u00abnec plus ultra\u00bb of Valais wine"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/","name":"thomasvino","description":"Vins & Gastronomie","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#\/schema\/person\/670bf4486fe81152cf1d68bd585e062e","name":"Pierre Thomas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/91fd5a76647f140e53db987a0dead4d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/91fd5a76647f140e53db987a0dead4d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Pierre Thomas"},"url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?author=3"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3m4tZ-2z3","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9457,"url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9457","url_meta":{"origin":9861,"position":0},"title":"Grains nobles: cet or qui scintille","date":"4 octobre 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Les vins liquoreux sont les joyaux de nombreux vignobles (Sauternes, Tokay, Alsace). En Valais, depuis quinze ans, les meilleurs vignerons observent les strictes r\u00e8gles de la Charte Grain Noble ConfidenCiel. Par Pierre Thomas Les \u00abliquoreux\u00bb attisent les superlatifs. Leur slogan, \u00abQuand le ciel s\u2019unit \u00e0 la terre pour cr\u00e9er l\u2019exception\u00bb,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "Vins suisses"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10006,"url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=10006","url_meta":{"origin":9861,"position":1},"title":"Valais \u2014 Une cuv\u00e9e unique pour les 10 ans de la Charte Grain Noble","date":"30 ao\u00fbt 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Dix ans de Grain NobleUne cuv\u00e9e d\u2019exceptionLa Charte Grain Noble ConfidenCiel f\u00eate ses dix ans avec une cuv\u00e9e unique de vins liquoreux 2005 d\u2019une vingtaine de vignerons valaisans.Pierre ThomasLa Charte Grain Noble, c\u2019est l\u2019engagement des vignerons \u00e0 \u00e9laborer dans des r\u00e8gles strictes de grands vins liquoreux. Ils \u00e9taient cinq au\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "Vins suisses"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10028,"url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=10028","url_meta":{"origin":9861,"position":2},"title":"Les meilleurs liquoreux du Valais, d\u00e9gustation 2007","date":"27 octobre 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Dix ans de la Charte Grain Noble ConfidenCielLa quintessence du Valais en un flaconLe 30 novembre, \u00e0 Berne, la Charte Grain Noble ConfidenCiel pr\u00e9sentera sa cuv\u00e9e anniversaire. Vingt vignerons valaisans ont c\u00e9d\u00e9 chacun vingt litres de liquoreux 2005, amoureusement \u00e9lev\u00e9 dans leur cave.Pierre ThomasDr\u00f4le d\u2019id\u00e9e que de mettre en commun\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "Vins suisses"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9224,"url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9224","url_meta":{"origin":9861,"position":3},"title":"Emmanuel Charpin du Ch\u00e2teau \u00e0 la Charte","date":"25 ao\u00fbt 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Ch\u00e2teau de Villa \u00e0 Sierre Un \u00e9conomiste pour un \u0153nologue L\u2019\u0153nologue Emmanuel Charpin quitte le Ch\u00e2teau de Villa, \u00e0 Sierre, o\u00f9 il \u0153uvrait depuis huit ans. La Fondation recherche un \u00e9conomiste comme assistant de directeur pour les secteurs administratif et financier. L\u2019annonce vient de para\u00eetre dans la presse romande (24\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "Actus - News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18068,"url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=18068","url_meta":{"origin":9861,"position":4},"title":"Charte Grain Noble ConfidenCiel: 25 ans et une cuv\u00e9e!","date":"6 mars 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Double \u00e9v\u00e9nement : pour la premi\u00e8re fois, un nectar suisse obtient 100\/100 du d\u00e9gustateur Stephan Reinhardt, au service du Wine Advocate fond\u00e9 par Robert Parker. Et c\u2019est un liquoreux de Marie-Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Chappaz. La plus c\u00e9l\u00e8bre des vigneron(ne)s suisses est une des fondatrices de la Charte Grain Noble ConfidenCiel, qui, la\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "Vins suisses"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasvino.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/IMG_7791-300x230.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9135,"url":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/?p=9135","url_meta":{"origin":9861,"position":5},"title":"D\u00e9gustation de vins liquoreux (8 f\u00e9vrier 2011)","date":"12 f\u00e9vrier 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Vins doux ou Grains nobles? De l\u2019or en bouteille\u2026 D\u00e9gustation par l\u2019exemple, mardi 8 f\u00e9vrier 2011, au Midi 20, Lausanne. Chaque vin, de chaque provenance, chaque ann\u00e9e, est diff\u00e9rent\u00a0! 1er vin Paradidou 2009, Domaine du Paradis, Satigny (GE) Vin doux, issu de chardonnay, pinot blanc et sauvignon blanc, obtenu par\u2026","rel":"","context":"Dans "Midi 20"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9861\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasvino.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}