L'Alpage "Chasselas" Laud, Switzerland 2023

FROM EUROPEAN CELLARS:

THE WINE: L’Alpage is a custom cuvée selected by Eric Solomon to capture the pure minerality and refreshing qualities of Chasselas grown in specific terroirs along the upper Rhône river banks. This style of Chasselas is a friendly, thirst-quenching wine perfect for after a day of hiking or snowshoeing and always welcome with cave-aged Gruyère, raclette, or fondue. Initially, we launched this cuvée from vineyards in the Valais under the local name Fendant, but with the 2020 vintage, we discovered a plot of Chasselas in the village of Mont-sur-Rolle in La Côte – a singular place with a quintessentially Swiss vista taking in Lac Léman and the Alps.

THE PRODUCER: Why Switzerland? is a question we’re frequently asked. For starters, it’s the birthplace of the Rhône and therfore and extension of our work in France. Add to that its naked beauty, complex terroirs, and a bewilderingly complex riot of grape varieties, and we ask in return, how could we not? There are also personal roots to our love of Switzerland since it is where Daphne Glorian spent most of her summers as a child and her family still owns a small châlet there. Twice each year, once in summer and once in winter, Eric and Daphne spend a week in Switzerland, usually driving there from Gratallops and stopping at their favorite cavistes along the way to stock up for their vacation. In this fashion, they’ve become acquainted with all the top growers in Switzerland, bottle by bottle.