Wyss, Blanc Müller Thurgau, Malans AOC 2022 - 75cl
Müller-Thurgau rarely gets to show off. Most of it ends up as cheap, soft and forgettable. Grow it high in the Swiss Alps with a grower who treats every vine like it matters, and it becomes something else entirely.
This is Sandro Wyss's Blanc, from Malans in the Bündner Herrschaft — the warm, foehn-blessed pocket of Graubünden that punches far above its size. Sandro's whole estate runs to less than a hectare, farmed biodynamically with a bit of permaculture thrown in, sitting around 600 metres on lean clay. He makes only a few hundred bottles a year, by hand, and he isn't trying to impress anyone. The altitude does the heavy lifting: cool nights lock in acidity and give the wine a nervy, mineral spine that the grape simply doesn't have at lower elevations.
Expect a pale, bright glass with aromas of white flowers, green apple, pear skin and a faint muscat lift. The palate is dry and quietly intense — crisp orchard fruit, a citrus thread, and a stony, almost saline finish that keeps you coming back. There's freshness here, but also a depth you don't expect from Müller-Thurgau. It tastes of the mountain it came from.
Open it when you want something clean and characterful that won't dominate the table. This is a thinking person's aperitif wine.
How to Serve
Chill to 8–10°C. A standard white wine glass is fine — nothing too narrow, so the aromatics have room. No decanting needed; just don't serve it ice-cold or you'll mute the detail.
Where to Drink It
Noble Rot Soho, a natural home for off-piste growers. The Wolseley for an early evening glass before dinner. Sager + Wilde on Hackney Road for its restless, grower-focused list.
Food Pairings
Lovely with goat's cheese and a green salad, or a plate of cold-water prawns. I'd also reach for it with a delicate trout fillet or a bowl of fresh ricotta-stuffed pasta.
