Malvoisie

About this grape variety

Pinot Gris, like Pinot Blanc, is a genetic mutation of Pinot Noir that changed colour spontaneously.
In Valais its magnificent wines are known as Malvoisie. Like its forebear, Pinot Gris has a compact bunch and is susceptible to disease. Also like Pinot Noir, it prefers the best Valais slopes: the warmest, the best ventilated.

It is nearly always harvested as withered grapes for late harvest wine, sometimes graced with noble rot (Botrytis cinerea). The small number of dry Malvoisie wines (called Pinot Gris in Valais) are wonderful to explore. No matter the type of wine, these wines, which are concentrated, vinous, robust, soft and full, become wonderfully well balanced after some years of cellar aging.

Information

  • Nose

    It has a complex bouquet with notes of quince jelly, golden plum jam, honey, cooked fruits and oriental spices.

  • Palate

    It is unctuous and sweet.

  • Origin

    Malvoisie first appeared in the Valais in a recipe book edited between 1671 and 1698. As a result, it is not easy to identify the variety(ies) hidden behind this designation. In 1869, Zurich chemist Kohler was the first to find a common identity between the Malvoisie from Valais and Pinot Gris.

Malvoisie

59.15 ha out of 4675 ha, or 1.26%

Tasting profile

Fruity

Full

Fresh

Sweet

80 wine producers cultivate this grape variety

Find a cellar
Etymology

Malvoisie refers to the well-known Italian Malvasia Bianca, which produces high-quality sweet wines, but in Valais it is the name historically used to identify Pinot Gris.

wine cellar(s)

Taste this grape variety

Grimentz

11 wines from this cellar

Cave Viaccoz

Nicolas Viaccoz, originally from the Valais resort of Grimentz (1,500 meters), has set up his production site at the foot of the ski slopes.

Salquenen

14 wines from this cellar

Mathier Franz-Josef AG

Felizitas Mathier and her husband Andrea Benicchio strive to cultivate their land in harmony with nature using environmentally friendly methods.

Varen

24 wines from this cellar

Leyscher Weine GmbH

With a strong family collaboration in the vineyard and at the winery, Leyscher Weine has already received several national and international awards.

Your tasting profile

Select your favourite type of wine or indicate what you are looking for in a wine and find out which Valais wine is right for you.

apricots, citrus fruits, exotic or red fruits, almonds, etc.Fruity

violet, elder, lime, rose, etc.Floral

low in alcohol, low in tanninsLight

Medium-bodied

intense alcohol, acidity and aromasFull

dominated by acid, which gives the wine a fresh appearanceCrisp

Fresh

without acidity, round, smoothSoft

no residual sugarDry

Semi-sweet

mellow wine, fairly supple, fleshyRich

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