Wyss, Noir Pinot Noir, Walenstadt AOC 2021 - 75cl

The 2021 vintage tested Swiss growers hard — a cool, demanding year that separated the careful from the lucky. Sandro Wyss is firmly in the first camp. His Noir comes from Walenstadt, and it carries the cool-year signature with grace: lean, precise, alive.

Wyss is a one-man, sub-hectare project spread across Azmoos in St. Gallen and the Bündner Herrschaft, all farmed biodynamically and worked by hand. The vines climb to around 600 metres on poor clay soils, where the gap between warm days and cold nights keeps the fruit fresh and the acidity bright. Production is tiny — hundreds of bottles, not thousands — so this is the kind of wine you stumble on once and remember.

The 2021 is pale ruby and unmistakably mountain Pinot. Tart cherry and cranberry up front, a savoury, earthy undertow, a flicker of dried herb and forest floor. The palate is taut and gently structured — fine, sappy tannins, a cool red-fruit core and a long, mineral finish that lingers without weight. It rewards a little patience in the glass; give it twenty minutes and it unfurls.

This is Pinot for people who like their reds with tension rather than sweetness. Open it when you want something genuinely distinctive on the table.

How to Serve

Serve cool, 14–16°C. A Burgundy-style bowl flatters the perfume. Skip the decanter, but let it breathe in the glass; cooler vintages like this open slowly.

Where to Drink It

Noble Rot Soho for its champion-the-underdog list. The Quality Chop House for honest, fire-led cooking. Planque in Haggerston, where a wine this characterful belongs.

Food Pairings

I'd serve this with roast duck or a confit leg, where the acidity cuts the richness beautifully. It also sings with earthy plates — lentils, mushrooms, a bit of thyme — and handles a mild, washed-rind cheese with ease.