St. Jodern Kellerei, Heida Barrique, Wallis, Valais, Switzerland 2018

Heida is the name used in the high Valais (or Wallis) for Savagnin, and our judges were very impressed by the range and expressive uniqueness of Swiss Savagnin this year, as you can see from other Swiss top medal-winners. The variety is often made with some residual sweetness in Switzerland, and stylistically speaking it forms a kind of missing link between North Italian Traminer wines and the much dryer and less aromatic Savaganins vinified from Jura’s cold clays. Don’t be put off by the fact that this is an oaked example, as the oaking is subtle and the delicate Heida fragrance survives. On the palate, too, this is a refreshingly aromatic yet full-flavoured wine, striking and singular: a horn sounding in the clear Alpine air.

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