Marie-Thérèse Chappaz

On the steep, sun-scorched vineyards above the village of Fulli in the Swiss canton of Valais, Marie-Thérèse Chappaz has spent four decades proving that Switzerland produces wines worthy of serious attention. In 2023, *The Wine Advocate* magazine put an end to the debate once and for all by awarding 100 points to one of her sweet wines, the first time a Swiss wine had ever received such a score.

History

The estate was founded in the 1940s by her great-uncle Maurice Troye, a former president of the State Council of the canton of Valais. When Chappaz was 17, her father offered her a plot of vineyard in Charra. She had intended to become a midwife, but accepted the offer, trained at the Federal School of Viticulture and Oenology in Chanjen, and in 1987 took over the management of the entire family estate. At that time, the estate covered just 1.5 hectares. Since then, she has steadily expanded it, reclaiming land that once belonged to her great-uncle, until the estate reached 10 hectares.

Her first harvest was in 1988, and the winery in La Liodiza opened in 1989.

Vineyards

These 10 hectares are spread across four villages: Fuli, Charra, Leutron and Chamozon. Fouli, where the central part of the estate is located, lies on a bend in the Rhône and enjoys over 2,000 hours of sunshine a year, warm foehn winds and granite soils, in places covered with loess. The vineyards are situated on impressively steep, south-facing terraced slopes; some of which can only be reached by monorail, and biodynamic farming methods have been practised here since the estate’s inception. On some of the steepest plots, work is carried out using horses.

Grapes

Chappaz pays particular attention to the indigenous varieties of the Valais: Petit Arvin, Hermitage (Marsan), Cornalin, Yumane Rouge, Heida and Pinot Noir. Petit Arvin, the most characteristic white variety of the Valais, forms the basis of both its dry and sweet wines.

Winemaking

From the very beginning, the estate has practised biodynamic farming, certified by Demeter, and Chappaz is one of the founders of ‘Les Artisanes de la Vigne et du Vin’, an association of women winemakers committed to natural viticulture. In the cellar, a minimalist approach is taken: the use of indigenous yeasts, no simplifications, and a focus on preserving what each vineyard and each variety naturally offers. The ‘Grain par Grain’ sweet wines are made from botrytis-affected grapes, harvested over several passes through the vineyard, sometimes as many as seven, resulting in tiny batches of incredibly concentrated wine.

Wines

The range includes dry white and red wines made from the Valais’s indigenous grape varieties, including dry Petite Arvine, Ermitage, Cornalin and Humagne Rouge, as well as the Grain Noble ConfidenCiel sweet wines, produced in accordance with strict regional regulations. ‘Grain par Grain Petite Arvine Domaine des Claives’ is the estate’s most famous wine: a sweet wine made from late-harvest Petite Arvine, which, in the 2020 vintage, became the first Swiss wine in history to receive 100 points from *The Wine Advocate* magazine.Production of this wine amounts to around 150 half-bottles per vintage. The estate’s wines are a rarity even within Switzerland.