Both bottlings of Petite Arvine that I tasted from different estates owned by Rouvinez were so good that I was tempted to plant this variety in my back yard — regardless of how different my growing conditions are from Switzerland’s. This was finished with about 3 grams per liter of residual sugar, but that’s below the tasting threshold of almost everyone, and even if you could taste it, you might well be glad it’s there to counterbalance the electric acidity. The fruit recalls stone fruits with a touch of mandarin orange, but the finish is very focused, energetic, and ultimately clean as a whistle.
Rouvinez, Valais (Switzerland) Petite Arvine de Fully 2016
By Michael Franz
