Fromm Chardonnay Malans – 2020

Fresh, crisp, vibrant Chardonnay with gentle buttery oak interwoven with honeydew melon and peachstone fruit flavours. A wine which speaks of its special “Bündner” terroir and microclimate, and an excellent example of Swiss Chardonnay.

“

Sourced in the Selvenen cru, Georg Fromm’s 2020 Malanser Chardonnay exhibits a clear, bright and shimmering lime-green color with very clear, precise, fresh and elegant yet still slightly reductive fruit that is perfectly intertwined with notes of finely milled stones. Filigreed and refined on the palate, this is a dense and intense, remarkably elegant and salty-mineral Chardonnay that develops an impressively long and complex as well as tensioned and grippy-saline finish. It’s still very young, but it’s one of the finest Chardonnays not only in Malans but in all Graubünden if not even all of Switzerland. 12.8% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in Zurich in February 2022.” 94pts The Wine Advocate

“Georg Fromm, who is now 70 years old, and his son Marco produce outstandingly fine and terroir-driven Pinot Noirs that follow the Burgundian cru model. In fact, a Pinot Noir from the Schöpfi vineyard was honored with a gold medal at the Swiss trade fair 110 years ago. The Schöpfi is still an excellent red wine, but my favorites from the great 2019 vintage are the Selvenen and the Fidler. Also, the 2020 Malanser Chardonnay is a fabulous wine. Since the Fromm’s cultivate only 4.5 hectares of several small vineyards, it is always hard to find a bottle of the crus if you haven’t subscribed them. Selvenen, Schöpfi, Fidler, Spielmann and Michel—these are the original field names of the five Pinot Noir vineyards that Fromm cultivates today. The vines are of a different age on each vineyard and from different Pinot genetics. It is important to the Fromms that the focus is not on them, not on their expectations and perceptions and not on their ability to influence a wine. “Rather, it is the search for the essential characteristics of the particular vines, soil and microclimates,” Fromm says. “It’s a recognition and appreciation of the age and diversity of the diverse Pinot Noir vines, and last but not least, it’s incredibly fun to compare each site sensory-wise and determine a new personal favorite each year.”