Whether it’s the black volcanic soil on Tenerife in the Canary Islands or the moonscape of the Valle de Aosta, we love wines from grapes grown in extreme places. So it was no surprise that we immediately fell in love the wines of Domaine de Beudon.

Their vineyards are textbook extreme. Perched on a small outcrop halfway up a sheer mountainside in the Valais region of Switzerland, the only way to access the domaine is a 3 hour walk up an absurdly precarious footpath with fixed ropes or a small, rustic cable car.

When Jacques (Jacky) Granges founded Domaine de Beudon in 1971, the locals referred to him as the “Crazy Man; Crazy because of the location of his vineyards, crazy because he farmed biodynamically, well before anyone else in Switzerland, crazy because of the grapes he grows and the wines he makes. But once you taste his wines, you realize that what’s considered crazy is his occasionally misunderstood genius.

Jacky’s steep (up to 50 degrees in some spots), granitic vineyards are planted to many indigenous varieties such as Petite Arvine, Fendant (Chasselas), Gamaret, or Diolinoir, as well as more familiar ones like Gamay and Pinot Noir. There is no wood used on any of the wines. Vinification and aging take place in stainless steel and via indigenous yeasts. The whites are pressed up on the mountain and the juice is brought down to the valley floor for fermentation. The reds are put in tanks and the entire tanks are brought down on cables for fermentation! Fermentation is slow and the wines are never filtered.

All of this makes for wines that are totally unique. When young the wines are racy, powerful, exuberant and wild. Deeply flavored and wildly aromatic, the extreme nature of Jacky’s vineyard allows for wines that are concentrated and brooding yet paradoxically fresh and vibrant. The wines age beautifully, replacing some of their wildness with more layers of complexity.

Sadly, Jacky passed away in 2016 doing what he loved most, working the vineyards. What makes this all that more sad is that his wines and way of doing things are finally getting the recognition they deserve. His wife and children, who were always by his side, are preserving his legacy and will continue to make wines that Jacky would proud of.