Dézaley Grand Cru Ligne Prestige 2022

From cheerful drinking wine to the classy grand cru: the Chasselas is, with good reason, the flagship of Switzerland. It is extremely multifaceted. A young, apple and pear fruit specimen turns raclette into a feast. And a mature plant from the steep slopes of Lake Geneva, for instance from Lavaux, perfectly accompanies fish and seafood with its nut and flint notes. In its stronghold, the canton of Vaud, the Chasselas was once called Fendant. It has been known there for over 500 years. But at the beginning of the 20th century, vintners renamed it Chasselas, and from then on wrote the communities of origin on the label. Meanwhile, the grapes gathered such a reputation in neighbouring Valais as Fendant that most people today believe the name was invented there. The difference between the regions is that in Vaud the terroir expression of Chasselas is particularly noticeable. In Valais, conversely, the warm weather allows particularly round, fruity wines to develop. The Chasselas from Neuchâtel is not to be forgotten. A specialty there is the non-filtré, an unfiltered wine which is enjoyed in January as an early harbinger of spring.

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The Lavaux comprise 825 of the 3,800 total hectares in Vaud, and form the heart of viticulture in this wine-growing canton. In the sometimes spectacularly steep terraced vineyards, the Chasselas grape demonstrates that it can produce tightly structured crus shaped by the terroir. The wines from the 54-hectare grand cru site, Dézaley, have a legendary reputation. More delicate wines are produced in the western parts of the Lavaux (Lutry and Villette) and the eastern foothills (Montreux).

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Vintners of Vaud have almost stubbornly maintained their loyalty to their preferred variety, Chasselas. This is now paying off, as white wines with moderate alcohol content are experiencing a renaissance. And vintners today interpret the lightness of Chasselas in their own individual ways. Over 100 chateaux produce wine here. By contrast, the wine villages fascinate with rural charm. It is these contrasts that make this winegrowing canton an exciting destination for wine tourism.

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Switzerland is famous for its banks, watches, and cheese, but not necessarily for its wine. The Swiss didn't invent wine, but they have been extremely open and curious to it. Wine culture arrived in what is now modern Switzerland via several routes: from Marseilles to Lake Geneva and the Lower Valais region; from the Aosta Valley through the Great St. Bernard Pass to the rest of Valais; from the Rhone through Burgundy, across the Jura Mountains to Lake Constance; and from Lombardy to Ticino, and then on to Grisons.

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