The Landscape of Swiss Wine

From a glance at the map, the serpentine road that rises between Sierre and Sion towards Crans-Montana looks like a giant coiled bedspring. After three or four hairpin bends, each one affording increasingly dramatic views of the stacked vineyards bolstered by dry stone walls and the valley stretching away below, you’ll come upon Joël and Edith Briguet’s winery. Two cellars and two different wine collections are housed here. One is Cave La Romaine, created in 1989, and the other is Clos de Tsampéhro, which first saw the light of day in 2011.

La Romaine wines come from multiple plots strewn across craggy south-facing slopes all the way from Sierre down to Sion, which are planted with twenty-four different grape varieties. Clos de Tsampéhro, the newer and separate venture, is a single, three-hectare, enclosed vineyard perched up behind the winery at 600 metres altitude. Its name suggests either champêtre (field) or even champ de poire for the pear trees that still flourish here. Here they have planted 10 different varieties, destined for just three wines. Tsampéhro Brut blends two of the classic Champagne grapes Chardonnay and Pinot Noir plus an original touch from local speciality grape Petite Arvine. Tsampéhro Blanc is a unique mix of two grapes: Rèze, the ancient, vanishingly rare Valais variety; and Heida, the Savagnin Blanc originally from the Jura. Tsampéhro Rouge marries the local Cornalin with Merlot and the two Cabernets. These are ambitious wines, made in tiny quantities and designed for long ageing and gentle savouring.

Such vine diversity adds enormously to the interest and fun of tastings here, for which the winery is beautifully equipped: push through the door of Cave La Romaine any day during office hours and you’re propelled straight into their light, airy tasting room set with high tables and stools. This is the place to sample a fresh, floral Fendant d’Uvrier from one of their named vineyards, or the convivial L’Etreinte, an all-Valais blend of Fendant, Petite Arvine, Heida and Humagne Blanc. Similarly delightful is Castel d’Uvrier Pinot Noir, un-oaked, fragrant and fresh with silken tannins.

While you’re here, take care to look into the Clos de Tsampéhro barrel room behind (they refer to it as the birthing room), where wines from the Clos are born and raised. It’s a wonderful sight, with a row of squat 1000-litre vats against one wall and more than 150 barriques arranged in a semi-circular formation on four different levels. Even more than a birthing room, it resembles something between a church, an amphitheatre, a terraced vineyard and a stage.

More exclusive tastings and private events are held upstairs in the Espace Tsampéhro, the state-of-the-art, professional tasting room. Be warned, though: your best intentions to taste mindfully and focus fully on the wines risk being derailed by the spectacularly distracting views up the valley. Wines not to be missed include their gorgeous Humagne Rouge (a personal favourite of mine and the wine that represents them in the Mémoire des Vins Suisses); their spicy, sour cherry-inflected Cornalin; or even Caligula, a rich, Bordeaux-inspired Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon-Cabernet Franc blend.

For a singular treat, ask them to book you the helicopter ride that they organise in conjunction with a local company. The ride takes you in a wide swoop with glimpses of the Matterhorn over swathes of terraced vineyards before homing in on the helipad on the winery roof. On arrival, a glass of that crisp, fine-bubbled Clos de Tsampéhro Brut will never taste as good.

ADDRESS: Route de Granges 124 3978 Flanthey CONTACT: Tel. 027 458 46 22 Mobile. 079 214 08 77	WINES TO LOOK OUT FOR: Cave La Romaine: L’Etreinte Pinot Noir Castel d’Uvrier Humagne Rouge Cornalin Caligula Clos de Tsampéhro: Tsampéhro Blanc Tsampéhro Rouge Tsampéhro Brut
info@cavelaromaine.ch
www.cavelaromaine.ch	Price range 13 to 35 SFr.
HIGHLIGHTS: Wines may be ordered online, or tasted and purchased weekdays during office hours and Saturday mornings in the tasting room of Cave La Romaine; tastings of Clos de Tsampéhro by appointment; helicopter rides should be booked in advance. Chemin du Vignoble vineyard trail, Stage 3 between Sierre and Sion