Terre Promise wine line – The promised land of the Chasselas
In the following three podcasts, we introduce you to the Terre Promise line, which consists of the Molignon, the Ville de Sierre and the Ville de Sion. Terre Promise is the name of the promised land. As you can see from these three wines, the terroir is particularly important. Terroir does not just mean the soil, but also the location in general, the sun exposure, the microclimate, the soil composition, the water quality and much more. Geology has had a decisive influence on the climate and topography of Valais. Millions of years separate us from the continental drift and the gigantic collisions that created the Alps. Not one square meter of the entire country has been spared from the effects and the enormous pressure and displacements.
Over the course of time, these forces have continued in the folding and splitting of rocks, landslides and erosion. While the soils in many wine-growing regions are almost homogeneous, the Valais has geological rock formations of incredible complexity. Furthermore, glaciers have shaped the Valais and its side valleys. During the Ice Age, the Rhone Glacier was the largest glacier in the Alps; today it is the Aletsch Glacier. At that time, the Rhone Glacier filled the whole of Valais and split into two arms at Lake Geneva. The Valais is therefore characterized by hills formed from debris cones, gravelly slopes and hilltops, steep rock faces with intense sunlight, glacial moraines, scree slopes and rocks that come to light under a thin layer of fertile soil.
All these factors have a major influence on the taste of the wine. The Chasselas grape is a subtle, nuanced wine. This is particularly evident in the three different Chasselas wines. The Ville de Sierre has a fine residual sweetness, the Molignon tastes dry and fruity and the dry Ville de Sion. All three are unique and yet similar in a certain way due to the history of the Valais.
Have fun drinking and comparing and until the next bottle.
