Anxious to preserve our domains and to tirelessly apply the most advanced agricultural methods, some years ago we started the transition towards organic winemaking.

In 2019, we launched the “NEZ NOIR”, our first wine using “return to organic farming” label. This is a red wine, a blend from grapes originating from the domains Crêta Plan in Sierre and Clos St. Marcel in the village of Grône. These two vineyards both have the advantage of not being too steep, a fact which allows an easier treatment of the soil with mechanic means. They also grow relatively separated, which lowers the risk of being contaminated from the pesticides in the neighbouring vineyards.

In the ageing cellar we have made every effort to treat the grapes in the most natural way possible in order to bring out the flavours of the grape varieties it consists of: Merlot, Gamaret and Syrah.

When first tasting the 2017 vintage in April 2018, the flavour and bouquet proved to be very intense and the strength was at an optimum level. This wine was of great intensity. We thus thought that it deserved a couple of months in a wooden barrel to intensify its taste and to gain a potential to be stored. This has now been achieved and we are happy to present you a with distinguished and well-balanced wine that will go along perfectly with all kinds of meals and moods.

During the 2019 harvest, we pumped out some of the wine from the barrels a couple of hours after the cellaring of the “NEZ NOIR”. This extraction process of part of the grape must helps to enhance the concentration of the red wine. The extracted must is then separately vinified and results in a fresh and fruity rosé wine. This results in the “NEZ NOIR ROSE” with a vivid rose colour of a lychee peel. The nose of this rosé calls to mind the taste of a basketful of wild berries from the woods. Raspberry and strawberry flavours round off the taste. This fruity freshness is finely embedded in exotic notes such as mango or passion fruit. It is a perfectly balanced, flavoursome and fruity wine. As the beautiful season arrives, look forward to tasting it: under a parasol, with half-closed eyes and with a glass of this fresh and drinkable rosé in the hand!

The name NEZ NOIR is inspired by the Valais breed of sheep of the same name.

Every year, between mid-March and mid-April, we let them graze for some weeks in our vineyards. This facilitates easy soil maintenance in tranquillity and perfect harmony with nature.

Once that work is done and the vines have begun to bud, we relocate the sheep to the rich grassland of Crêtillon near Sierre.

With the arrival of summer, the sheep are taken to their original environment, first to Schweifine at 2300 metres a.s.l. and later to Triftchumme at 2700 metres. It is up there, facing the Matterhorn, in the commune of Zermatt, that they are shorn twice during the alpine season, providing some kilograms of high-quality wool. 

Just like our famous grape varieties Arvine and Cornalin, the Nez noir du haut Valais is a 100% original Valais race.

Thanks to their strong constitution and their thick wool they adapt perfectly to the extreme weather conditions prevalent in the region. Although their numbers dropped so drastically over the years, today interest in the Nez noir is increasing again. This is certainly the case since the Brits have given it the title “the cutest sheep in the world”. Now, these sheep are exported and can be found in Great Britain, New Zealand and the United States. And, of course, in the vineyards of Clos St. Marcel and Crêta Plan!

For our “NEZ NOIR” wines, we have chosen a Burgundy-type bottle which is characterised by its low weight. It uses less glass and therefore less resources and energy in its production.

Moreover, these low-weight bottles are produced at the works of our supplier Vetropack in St-Prex, a fact that considerably reduces the carbon footprint of the transport. And the same is true for the transport of the filled bottles to you: as the bottles are less heavy, our trucks need less fuel.

Our “NEZ NOIR” wines without doubt are among the most eco-friendly in Switzerland.