Vinum Profipanel
HUMAGNE ROUGE
Average score of all eight Humagne Rouge: 17.25 points
Valais AOC Humagne Rouge Ferdinand Mathier 2018: 18 points, 1st place
There is no question that Humagne Rouge in Valais has steadily increased in quality and, above all, finesse in recent vintages. In the past, the wines often had a somewhat unwieldy, even wild character (it was also popularly known as “hell’s wine”), but today’s Humagne wines are considerably more generous and, above all, more polished. This very positive development has probably also led to the variety being less easily recognizable; even wine experts sometimes find it difficult to distinguish it from Cornalin in blind tastings such as the VINUM professional panel. The late-ripening variety is one of the winners of global warming, with top wines now reaching ideal ripeness in almost every vintage. In addition, the winegrowers know how to give the wines exactly the right amount of spice with a skillful use of wood, which gives them an additional dimension. The variety was first mentioned in documents relatively late, around 1900 in an inventory of grape varieties in Fully. It has long been assumed that the variety came to Valais from the Aosta Valley. Around 20 years ago, DNA analyses revealed that Humagne Rouge is identical to Cornalin in the Aosta Valley. Because the variety is considered difficult to cultivate, particularly in terms of susceptibility to rot and magnesium deficiency, and also has highly fluctuating yields, it almost died out in Valais 50 years ago. In the 1960s, only five or six plots were planted with the variety. It was not until the 1980s that the area under cultivation increased again. Today, 143 hectares are once again planted with the variety. Because the variety gives winegrowers the opportunity to produce authentic, independent wines, it could play an even more important role in Valais viticulture in the future. The variety is also well suited for blending with other Valais varieties and Bordeaux growths. There are differing assessments regarding the development potential of single-varietal Humagne Rouge wines. While some producers recommend enjoying the wines comparatively young, namely three to five years after the harvest, when the youthful aromas are still in the foreground, others attribute a much longer ageing potential to today’s barrique-aged selections.
CORNALIN
Average score of all eight Cornalin: 17.44 points
Valais AOC Cornalin Adrian Mathier 2018: 18 points, 1st place
In Valais, Cornalin has a history that is almost cinematic, which in some respects almost resembles a provincial farce, culminating in the fact that Valais Cornalin is not really Cornalin at all. The real Cornalin is actually the Humagne Rouge… All right? The correct name of the false Cornalin is Rouge du Pays or Landroter and is one of the long-established grape varieties in Valais. The variety was first mentioned in a vine register in Anniviers in 1313. The oldest living vine in Switzerland, the so-called “old vine” of Leuk-Stadt, which is said to have been planted in 1798, is also a Rouge du Pays or Cornalin. No wonder, as the variety was widely cultivated throughout Valais until the 19th century. It was not until the 20th century that the area under cultivation declined rapidly. The reason? Although the quality of the wines was always undisputed, the late-ripening variety was considered to be extremely capricious in cultivation, with strongly fluctuating yields. It was therefore increasingly displaced by Pinot Noir and Gamay. The downward trend went so far that in the 1970s there were only a few isolated vines left. The Cornalin grape was rescued in 1972 by Jean Nicollier, the viticulture commissioner at the time, who made new selections and thus ensured its survival in Valais. Probably in his overzealousness, he made a problematic name correction. Because the original name Rouge du Pays reminded him too much of a simple country wine, which in his opinion did not correspond to the quality potential of the variety, he looked for a new name and finally decided on Cornalin, assuming that the so-called variety had died out in the Aosta Valley. But it was not. And because the real Cornalin has also experienced a small renaissance in the Aosta Valley, the name fusion is perfect. However, the powerful and smooth wine, with its aromas of black cherries and spicy notes reminiscent of cloves, is in vogue. Today, around 150 hectares are once again planted with this variety in Valais, and the trend is rising. The top selections aged in barriques in particular are among the red flagships of Valais viticulture. The wines also have good ageing potential.
SYRAH
Average score of all eight Syrahs: 17.56 points
Valais AOC Syrah Diego Mathier 2018: 17.5 points
In terms of quality, Syrah is undisputedly the leading red variety in Valais, even if Humagne Rouge and Cornalin have moved closer to it. The variety is also of great cultural importance in Valais as, together with the white variety Marsanne (known as Ermitage in Valais), it links the Swiss Rhône valley with the French Rhône valley, which is considered by connoisseurs to be one of the most important wine regions in the world. The two varieties thus contribute to the perception of the Rhône as a coherent wine-growing region from its origin at the Rhône glacier near Gletsch to its mouth into the Mediterranean at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue. This was also the intention when the variety was introduced to Valais in 1926, almost 100 years ago. When the success story of Valais Syrah began around 30 years ago, winegrowers tended to compare their crus with lighter French growths from regions such as Saint-Joseph or Crozes-Hermitage. Since then, however, Syrah in Valais has gained significantly in richness and body, also thanks to the warming climate, so that some growths are also reminiscent of prime wines from the Côte-Rôtie. Previous VINUM comparative tastings have already proven several times that the top Valais syrahs today need not fear comparison with top wines from the Rhône, South Australia or the Central Coast in California. No wonder, then, that the area under vines in Valais has steadily increased and today 171 hectares are planted with the variety. The top wines are powerful and well-structured, with a fine tannin structure and aromas of dark wild berries and spicy notes, especially black pepper and cloves. Cayas, created by Jean-René Germanier and Gilles Besse, is considered the prototype and pioneer of a full-bodied and multi-layered Valais Syrah. The wine is not only the overall winner of this Valais tasting, it is also one of the few wines whose variety was clearly recognizable to the tasters. Cayas has been produced since 1995, in an impressive quantity by Swiss standards of around 30,000 bottles. The “state of the art” Syrah undergoes a ten-day cold pre-maceration and matures for two years in small oak barrels before being bottled.
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