Robert Gilliard Fendant Sion Les Murettes 2008 & 2006

Last night we attended a school function for our oldest son.  They were serving the traditional Swiss raclette (melted cheese and potatoes) paired with the Robert Gilliard Fendant Les Murettes 2008.  This family run winery dating back to 1885 is located in the Valais region of southwest Switzerland, near the borders of Italy and France.  This is the largest wine growing region in Switzerland.  It is made from the Fendant grape, which is also known as Chasselas.  This is a nice straw yellow wine with flowery aromas along with some soft citrus.  On the palate, it has a crisp flavor of white peach, pear, apple and an abundance of minerality from the slate and rock in the region.   If you don't believe that terroir has any impact on wine, try a bottle of Fendant.  It has a very unique flavor.  There is a crisp acidity and long lasting flavors to this dry wine.   When we returned home, I opened the 2006 and quickly noticed the dull and flat flavors in this vintage.  The 2008 was 12% alcohol and the 2006 was 11.8%.   This is a wine to drink and not put in the cellar.  It will not get better with age.  The Gilliard Fendant is aged in stainless steel and is unoaked.   We always have some on hand for our raclette and fondue dinners at home.  It can also be enjoyed as an aperitif.  It retails for about $25.  The Dole from Robert Gilliard is very nice too, but that will be a separate post.