Luc Massy
White wines from Luc Massy
Red wines from Luc Massy
from Luc Massy
Leaving the charming village of Epesses on the shore road to the west you will find among the vines on the right a 17th century bourgeois house, the seat of the house of Massy. This includes not only the main building but also the Clos du Roux, an extraordinary walled plot. The Massy family took up residence here in the 19th century and owns 8 hectares comprising the Epesses, Saint-Saphorin and Dézaley appellations. The vines are planted on plots that slope steeply at 30 to 60%, which necessitates a lot of manual work. These terraces, bordered by dry stone walls, make up a remarkable site, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. As early as the 11th and 12th centuries the Benedictine and Cistercian monks recognised the exceptional soil and climatic conditions and the influence of the lake. The cultivation of Chasselas goes back to the 16th century. This grape is incontestably the ambassador of white wines in the canton of Vaud. It has all the qualities needed in a great wine, particularly the ability faithfully to reproduce the tonality of the soil in which it grows. Luc Massy is a winemaker who enjoys a great reputation not only in this region but throughout the country. His Dézaley Chemin de Fer, the estate's signature wine, brings out the best in this variety. The Epesses from the Clos du Roux is exceptional simply because it is the fruit of a plot over which the Massy family has a monopoly. Farming methods that respect the environment, low yields and rigorous sorting along with a cautious approach to fermentation and ageing lead, year after year, to high quality production.
Producer
Brivio / Gialdi
For most of wine lovers in Switzerland, the name Guido Brivio is no unknown. However, abroad, it is a different story. Only after many years in the trade has he become among the wine experts and professionals of New York or London an insider tip, so to say, from an infinitesimally tiny unknown corner in the great international wine world.
Bodegas Ribas
We could talk about our winery of the year, Bodega Ribas on Mallorca, all day long. But it's best to see and read for yourself! We sent wine journalist Britta Wiegelmann and cameraman Felix Groteloh to experience the winery and the family at first hand. Araceli and Javier Servera Ribas, the brother and sister team behind the wines, tell us how the oldest existing winery on the island survived phylloxera, why they love their local grape, the Mantonegro, so much and what the sea has to do with it all.
Château Raymond Lafon
Located in the heart of the Sauternes area, this winery comprises 18 hectares, 16 of which planted with 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. The maximum yield by law is 25 hectolitres per hectare. The yields at Raymond-Lafon average only 8 to 10 hectolitres per hectare; in other words, one vine will produce only one glass of delicious wine. Over several pickings, the grapes are harvested one by one according to their level of maturity. In some years, this can result in up to ten selected hand harvests. This alone lets one appreciate the great value of this wine.