This week’s wine is one from the Badoux wine team, quite an innovative crew.
Lettres de Noblesse 2012, Merlot d’Yvorne Badoux Vins, Aigle
It’s not just Bordeaux and Ticino who can produce great Merlot, it’s also Yvorne, a small, wine growing area in the Aigle district of the Chablais wine region in Vaud.
100% Merlot, Lettres de Noblesse (nobility) is from the top of the line range of wines from Badoux Vins and it really does stand up to its name.
Nose – Layers of dark cherries and plums, mon cherie chocolates, cigar box and background musky oak intermingle. Once opened, chocolate, mocha and leather are revealed.
Palate – Smooth silky tannins and warm alcohol. This elegant, refined wine produces a most pleasant warm glow throughout.
Food & Mood Match – A sophisticated, seductive wine which you will not forget easily. For best results, savour with a dignified, aristocratic gentleman or lady around an elegant table with a crackling fire in the background. Accompany with a banquet of chasse (wild game), ideally venison. If this combination is simply not possible, then opt for New Zealand rack of lamb followed by a rich dark chocolate dessert.
The Badoux wine team, have even gone as far as ageing wine in lac Leman. This experiment began a few years ago to see how the wine copes ageing in water rather than air (the traditional way). This method has already been tried out in other countries by ageing wine in the sea. The advantages are a constant temperature and complete darkness, two elements which wine not only loves but needs in order to age well.
Champagne found on old ship wrecks has proved this method works exceptionally well. It could be the way the world of wine will turn since we are rapidly running out of storage space, have problems with temperature control due to global warming but what’s more, how romantic.
Chateau de Chillon – © Serrnovik | Dreamstime.com
After one year of the wine sleeping peacefully at 25 metres down in the depths of lac Léman next to Château de Chillon, tests prove it to be impeccable. I’m sure Lord Byron would have marvelled at the idea and written an epic poem on the matter.
Price: CHF 36.40
Available at:
Henri Badoux SA
Route d’Ollon 8
1860 Aigle – tél. +41 24 468 68 88 www.badoux-vins.ch – info@badoux-vins.ch
Wine Lingo: Finish – The impression you have of the wine after you have swallowed it or spat it out.
By Nina Bobillier
Nina Bobillier is a wine reviewer and guide. nina@lenews.ch
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