I enjoyed these five vintages of Clos des Moines as part of a wine tasting contest during the annual dinner organized in Ticino by the Confrérie du Guillon. An organization founded in 1954, following the model of a medieval fraternity, with the purpose of promoting the wines of the Vaud wine region of Switzerland.
Clos des Moines is one of the five wine domains owned by the City of Lausanne. This property dates back to the 12th century and is located in the Dézaley AOC, among the most prestigious terroir for growing Chasselas.
Although you would not necessarily expect it, the 45 years old 1974 was the tastiest of the flight, whilst the younger 1985 and 1991 didn’t deliver any pleasure worth mentioning.
The tasting competition consisted in being able to recognize the wines blindly, after having tasted them a first time knowingly.
Beside the need of being able to distinguish and remind the characteristics of the five wines tasted, what makes this kind of contest challenging is the fact that the flavours of the tasted wines change considerably with the unavoidable variation in temperature and exposure to air. Moreover, all wines are made with the same grape, come from the same territory and, given the age, every single bottle taste slightly different.
Despite all the challenges, this year my wife proudly got them all right, while I inverted the 1985 and the 1991.
Not every year different vintages of the same wine are offered. Sometimes to be recognized are Chasselas from the same producer, but from different terroir. As it was the case last year, when I got to win the contest, tasting the wines only blindly: quite an exploit!
The prize, which I won for the third time, was a dinner for two at the Rassat d’Automne held in the astonishing setting of Chateau Chillon on the shore of Lake Geneva, near Montreux.
According to the (supposedly) medieval tradition of the Confrérie du Guillon, the event is staged as a middle age dinner, with speeches made by troubadours, who introduce every wine and the accompanying dish. Only members and their guests are allowed to participate to the feast.
This post is dedicated to Jian, the extraordinary woman I married exactly 10 years ago. Since then she has been my great love, my life companion and my inspiration. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life with her!
Country: Switzerland
Region: Vaud
Grapes: Chasselas
Type: White
Vintage: 1974, 1985, 1991, 2002, 2011
Producer: Vins de Lausanne
Price range: Medium (15-30 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5