Charles Bonvin Fils Domaine Clos du Château Dôle du Valais 2005 Tasting Notes

Though the Swiss Valais really isn't that far from Burgundy and Beaujolais, where this wine's two grapes hold court, the Domaine Clos du Château is its own wine. This wine is clear and light, so much so that I was tempted to think it was a rosé by its color, until its solidity in the glass began to plead the case for depth. The wine has a reluctant nose, a tight nose, a closed nose; pick your adjective, but it more than makes up for this seeming deficiency in the mouth. It brings minerality, almost at the level of stoniness you find in a fine sparkling water, the Italian San Pellegrino or the German Apollinaris. It is a minerality you feel on your teeth.

The Pinot Noir center of this wine has little to do with any wine style from Burgundy. The minerality aside, the wine lacks Burgundian dirt entirely, nor does it present multiple dimensions. The tradeoff is tang and purity, with fresh, vibrant, mainstream cherry fruit. The wine gets a bit of strawberry roundness, a bit of thickness, a floral tinge, from that Gamay. The minerality sews it all up and keeps it all together. The finish is mineral pucker, clean as a whistle. In fact this wine is in every sense clean, though in no sense sterile. It is enjoyable on its own, and provides an excellent excuse not to do anything you might regret, like try to climb a mountain.