DOMAINE LOUIS BOVARD LAVAUX

When one speaks of the wines of the Rhône Valley two images spring to mind: the step vertiginous slopes of Cornas and Hermitage or the undulating and sun-baked landscape surrounding Avignon. Few, however, conjure up pictures of towering mountains and alpine meadows. Long before there were autoroutes linking foreign capitals there were rivers, the life’s blood of trade and culture from prehistory to the advent of the locomotive. The Rhône river was one of these ancient highways, and one that linked the Mediterranean to the Alps. Depending on your perspective, Rhône wines do not end or begin at Vienne but continue all the way up to the Swiss village of Brig, where you can find some of the highest vineyards in Europe.

Heading upstream, and just past the border between France and , the Rhône widens and redirects itself in a great arch forming Lac Léman. It’s northerly course veers easterly before turning to flow southeast making the steep slopes of the north shore of Lac Léman an ideal spot for viticulture. It should come as no surprise that the Cistercian monks, rightly famous for being the first to recognize the potential of the terroir of Burgundy were also the early pioneers of grape growing in this part of Switzerland known as Lavaux. From the city of Lausanne to the town of , most of the best villages and sites for Swiss wines are situated: Epesses, Cully, Calamin, Dézaley, St-Saphorin, , Villeneuve, , , and .

Domaine Louis Bovard is a ten-generation family estate located in the town of Cully on the north bank of Lac Léman. Proponents of the indigenous Chasselas, the Domaine tends a repository (Le Conservatoire Mondial du Chasselas) of the various massale selections of the variety in order to preserve the biodiversity of the Chasselas grape as well better under- INDIGO WINE • www.europeancellars.com • [email protected] • 704.358.1565 standing how different selections express themselves in the various terroirs of Switzerland. In addition to Chasselas the estate grows Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah. The steep, terraced vineyards of the Domaine are farmed sustainably with some biodynamic practices. Vineyard work is manual, dictated by the narrowness of the terraces and harvests are assisted by mechanical lifts that transport small crates of freshly harvest grapes to the top of the slope – much like one can find in parts of the Mosel or Ribeira Sacra.

Once the white varieties arrive at the cellar they are crushed and allowed a short time on their skins before pressing. After the must settles it is transfered to large wooden fou- dres or French oak barrels for fermentation and aging on the lees. The Chasselas from Dézaley and Aigle are nat- FACTS & FIGURES urally allowed to go through malo while it is blocked for the Buxus Sauvignon Blanc. Often seen as fairly neutral FOUNDED and preferably consumed in its youth, Chasselas at Do- 1687 maine Louis Bovard proves that this conventional wisdom is utterly baseless. The dramatic differences between Aigle, PROPRIETOR Calamin and Dézaley prove that Chasselas can transmit Louis-Philippe Bovard unique expressions of the sites where it is planted. These are riveting examples of alpine wine that not only capture WINEMAKER the floral freshness of their settling but also reward those Caspar Eugster patient enough to resist their youthful charms.

SIZE 17 ha

ELEVATION 400-800 meters above sea level

SOILS Clay limestone, gravel, marl, sandstone

VINE AGE 15-30+

VARIETIES Chasselas, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Syrah

FARMING Sustainable with biodynamic practices

HARVEST Manual

CELLAR Hand harvested, crushed, short skin maceration, fermentation in tank, foudre or French oak barrels

INDIGO WINE • www.europeancellars.com • [email protected] • 704.358.1565