Domaine Bovy

The Bovy family has been rooted in Chexbres since time immemorial. Their cellars date back to the 16th century, and the first vineyards were purchased in 1779. That's when the story really begins, in the heart of Lavaux, where the terraced vineyards cascade down toward Lake Geneva like giant stone staircases. The estate sits in one of Switzerland's most spectacular wine regions, a UNESCO World Heritage site where monks first planted vines in the 11th century. The Bovy vineyards spread across 10.6 hectares in the appellations of Saint-Saphorin, Dézaley, Epesses and Chardonne. The slopes here are no joke. Some plots tilt at 30 to 60 percent gradients, making mechanization nearly impossible on three of the eleven hectares. It's a place where vines literally hang suspended in the sky.

Brothers Bertrand and Eric Bovy represent the fourth generation at the helm. They took over in 1997, following their father Bernard, who succeeded Maurice, who followed Henri. Maurice left his mark in a unique way: he painted scenes of family life and Lavaux landscapes on the estate's massive oak barrels, some of which are over a century old. When you visit the cellar today, you're walking through a living museum of winemaking tradition. The brothers practice what they call reasoned viticulture, respecting the environment at every turn. They use natural fertilizers, grass the soil to fight erosion on those steep terraces, and crush vine cuttings right back into the earth to enrich it organically. Most of the work is done by hand because the terrain demands it. Their vineyards are planted at high density, 9,000 vines per hectare, trained in gobelet and guyot styles.

The Bovy philosophy is simple: let the terroir speak. Everything in the cellar is designed to allow the full expression of the land. Chasselas makes up 80 percent of their plantings, the signature grape of Vaud that soaks up the character of each specific plot. The wines spend four to six months in those historic oak foudres after direct pressing, cold settling, and fermentation at 18 to 20 degrees Celsius. The wood aging brings harmony without masking the purity and finesse of Chasselas, which can't handle heavy oxidation or pronounced oak flavors. Eric's favorite is their Clos, a Premier Grand Cru Classé from Saint-Saphorin, where calcareous soils give the Chasselas intense minerality. When Eric took over from his father, they made maybe four or five wines. Today they produce 17 different cuvées.

The range covers the full spectrum of Lavaux. Their Saint-Saphorin comes from 6 hectares on clay-limestone soils over a base of pudding stone, those distinctive pebbles cemented together. The Saint-Saphorin Vieilles Vignes is a standout, recommended by Decanter for tastings on the estate's spectacular veranda. They also work a small plot of Dézaley Grand Cru, just 0.6 hectares on similar pudding stone geology. Epesses contributes 0.4 hectares from heavy marl soils rich in clay. Chardonne adds 3.6 hectares with gravelly clay terroirs. Beyond Chasselas, they grow specialties like Pinot Gris, Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Savagnin Blanc for whites, plus Pinot Noir, Gamay, Gamaret and Garanoir for reds. They even make a sweet wine called Chorus, a blend of Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris. The estate received the 2022 Best of Wine Tourism Award of Merit, and visitors can taste wines while gazing at Lake Geneva and the Alps from the family's beautiful residence.