Mercury 2022 - 75cl - Domaine des Petites Planètes

This cuvée is a blend of several red grape varieties grown in the Valais.

This wine was made in Switzerland, naturally, without any synthetic inputs in the vineyard or in the cellar, but with the help of herbal teas, fermented extracts and compost tea to accompany the vines throughout the season.

My first vintage on the first plot I was lucky enough to work.
Guillaume Bodin

The legal start of the conversion to organic and biodynamic farming starts in 2023 following many hours of administrative work on the first vintage, even though everything was obviously done according to these farming methods.

Average altitude of the plots 520 metres - Hand harvested on 5th September 2022 - Indigenous yeasts - Matured in vats for 6 months - Light filtration before bottling - 2323 bottles - Total SO2 below 30 mg/L.

Find this wine on the website www.petitesplanetes.ch

Grape varieties

Pinot Noir (with some Merlot added by the former winemaker), Syrah and Humagne Rouge.

Vinification

No SO2 at harvest, de-stemming and vatting of all grape varieties together, incorporation of native yeast prepared one week before, one pumping over per day, pressing after 12 days of maceration.

Addition of 10 mg/L SO2 after malolactic fermentation, light filtration 1 week before bottling, adjustment to 15 mg/L free SO2 (i.e. addition of 4mg/L) the day before bottling.

Bottled on April 14, 2023.

Tasting

In a gourmet style, this red blend will brighten up your aperitifs or dishes. With a dense nose and a beautiful substance, its flattering mouth has a dynamic on red fruits and black cherry. A wine full of fruit.

Storage

Can be kept for 3 to 5 years (in good temperature and humidity conditions).

Vintage 2022 in Valais

The year 2022 was characterised by exceptional weather conditions and a scorching summer. It was also characterised by a very low level of rainfall throughout the vegetation and grape ripening period. Coupled with the high temperatures, this phenomenon favoured high evaporation, greatly accentuating the water deficit in the soil and making it necessary, in certain situations, to irrigate more than usual.

These hot and dry weather conditions particularly benefited the vines and were very unfavourable to fungal diseases and other pests. After budburst in mid-April, the vines grew rapidly and continuously. Flowering began in mid-May, two weeks ahead of the ten-year average, and the harvest began at the end of August.

With 26 million kilos of red grapes and 20 million kilos of white grapes, the 2022 Valais harvest is close to that recorded in 2019 and 10% above the ten-year average. As a reminder, the very low 2021 harvest, heavily affected by frost and mildew, produced 22.7 million kilos.

The natural sugar content of the 2022 vintage is close to the ten-year average for Chasselas (81 °Oe), Sylvaner (94 °Oe), Pinot Noir (95 °Oe) and Gamay (95 °Oe).

The quality of the wines is very promising. A somewhat surprising freshness for this hot and early vintage gives them energy and vitality, balancing the greediness in a very delicate way.

The white wines have character with a beautiful aromatic exuberance. On the palate, the fruitiness is brilliant, combining floral notes and ripe fruit, while revealing a surprising freshness. The red wines are full-bodied yet subtle. They express themselves in a rich palette of black fruits and warm spices, with beautiful silky and melted tannins.