Ieder jaar vind in Sierre CH de Mondial de Pinots – noir, blanc en gris – plaats. Veel ingezonden pinots komen uit Zwitserland, maar ook landen als Frankrijk en Nieuw Zeeland sturen in. Het niveau van de wijnen is altijd hoog en dat pleit voor de Zwitsere pinots. Jammer dat deze mooie Wijnen uit de Confederatie Helvetia maar mondjesmaat naar Nederland komen. Toch is er licht aan de horizon. Anderewereldwijnen.nl importeert veel Zwitserse wijnen en uit Wallis zit onder andere een mooie pinot noir van topproducent Adrian & Diego Mathier in het portfolio. Mathier maakt ca. vijftig verschillende soorten wijnen. Mooi dat sommigen van deze ook in Nederland te krijgen zijn Ook café Bern in Amsterdam serveert zelf geimporteerde Zwitserse wijnen. Zwitserland telt nu ongeveer 14.000 hectares waarvan het overgrote deel in Valais. In het onderstaande het Engelse persbericht van de organisatie van de Mondial met de prijswinnaars.
The Mondial des Pinots 2016 awards reflect the excellent quality of wines made from Pinot Noir and other Pinot grapes. The competition, which is for wines made only from grapes in the Pinot family, offers a good indication of how well these grow in greatly different regions around the world. In Switzerland, canton Graubünden and other cantons in German-speaking areas put in a particularly good showing. Two wines from canton Valais obtained the highest distinction, the Grand Or medal. Grand Or, gold medals and several special prizes will be handed out during the ceremony that takes place 2 September 2016 in Sierre, which serves as a prelude to the opening of the VINEA Swiss Wine Fair.
Near 1,350 wines, an increase of 175 compared to the previous year, were submitted to the judges of the 19th Mondial des Pinots (MDP), which is open to wines made from three grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. The competition, a member of VINOFED and run under the patronage of the OIV, UIOE and USOE, thus registered record participation this year. The strength of the number of producers, 470 of them, is an indication of the credibility and attractiveness of this competition, organized by VINEA. “Pinot Noir is enjoying greater popularity among consumers, who are looking for wines that are lighter, delicious and elegant. The fact they are delicate doesn’t mean they can’t also have a lovely aromatic complexity, which is what we find in the best of them,” says Richard Pfister, judge, oenologist and perfumer.
A variety of expressions of the grape
This is a truly international competition, from the makeup of the panel of judges to the origins of the wines. Swiss Pinot wines made up the majority, but wines were also entered from Germany, France, Italy, Slovakia, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and other countries. Pinot Noir expresses well the terroirs where it grows. The Swiss competition offers a unique opportunity to compare many different terroir expressions of Pinots from around the world.
The judges, eminent international specialists, commenting on the competition and the wines, had these remarks: Chilean Pablo Ugarte Cruz-Coke, director of the Catador Wine Awards competition, drew attention to the landscape around them, which inspired the judges. “In Sierre, when we taste we are surrounded by these incredible Valais vineyards on the slopes, a landscape that is stimulates us when we are tasting wines. It creates a completely different atmosphere from what we have when we taste at competitions held in large cities.” Fabienne Cortadi, director of the Bordeaux competition Citadelles du Vin was pleasantly surprised by the intensity of some Pinot Noirs, a grape variety that for her, works best in cooler climates.
The awards
The highest honour, the Grand Or medal, was awarded to two wines from canton Valais, a Pinot Noir from Varone and a Pinot Gris from Salgesch/Salquenen. More than two-thirds of the medals (84) went to Pinot wines from Switzerland: 28 from Valais, 20 from Graubünden, 8 from Vaud, 6 from Neuchatel. The last of these regions had an excellent result in relation to the number of wines presented. The same was true for Graubünden and the rest of German-speaking Switzerland, with a total of 41 medals. At the international level, German Pinot wines won 15 medals, while France was awarded 7. The Mondial des Pinots awards 9 “special prizes”, among them the “Gran Maestro du Pinot Noir prize, given each year to the wine with the best overall result for three executive vintages. This year an Austrian producer won the prize. The Vinofed Prize goes to the Grand Or wine or gold medal wine that comes closest to a unanimous vote from the jury; this year it goes to a Neuchatel winery that is a regular winner at the competition.
A privilege for the public
The prize ceremony will take place Friday, 2 September, at Château Mercier in Sierre, immediately before the opening of the Vinea Swiss Wines Fair. For two days, 2 September (from 15:00-20:00) and 3 September (from 11:00 to 19:00), visitors will have a rare privilege, the option to taste freely the winning wines, at the stand for the Mondial des Pinots awards. Visitors will also be able to taste the award-winning Merlots from the Mondial des Merlots et assemblages, a competition for Merlots and blends that is also organized by VINEA.
Note The complete list of award-winning wines from the 19th Mondial des Pinots competition is available online at prijswinnaars Mondial des Pinots
