Switzerland

Three Lakes

Switzerland wine regions

About Three Lakes

The Three Lakes region (Trois-Lacs in French, Drei-Seen-Region in German) is Switzerland's most quietly Burgundian zone. Vineyards arc around the lakes of Neuchâtel, Bienne and Murten, spread across the cantons of Neuchâtel, Bern, Fribourg and a sliver of Vaud. Pinot Noir is the calling card, often made in the pale, dry rosé style called Œil-de-Perdrix (literally "partridge's eye"), invented in Neuchâtel and now made across French-speaking Switzerland. Chasselas covers the whites. The total area is small at ~930 hectares but the styles are distinctive: a leaner, more transparent Pinot than anywhere else in Switzerland, often grown on Jurassic limestone marl. Producers like Domaine de la Maison Carrée, Château d'Auvernier and Caves de Chambleau define the contemporary style.

Switzerland wine regions

Appellations

What Three Lakes produces

Œil-de-Perdrix

The signature regional rosé from Pinot Noir, invented around Neuchâtel and now legally protected across the canton. Pale salmon, dry, savoury; the easiest way to taste the Three Lakes style.

Non Filtré

A Neuchâtel speciality: Chasselas bottled directly from tank with the lees still in suspension, released on the third Wednesday of January. Cloudy, briny, an annual ritual for local drinkers.

Neuchâtel Blanc

The cantonal Chasselas label (never sold as Fendant, which is reserved for Valais). Linear, mineral, with a non-malolactic style that distinguishes it from the Lavaux versions.

Grapes of Three Lakes

Pinot Noir

Blauburgunder or Blauburgunder in Three Lakes

strawberryraspberryred cherryviolet

Lean, transparent Pinot on Jurassic limestone marl; the home of Œil-de-Perdrix rosé

Gewürztraminer

Traminer in Three Lakes

Body

Sweetness

Acidity

lycheerosepeachapricot

Sold as Traminer on Vully labels; a small but distinctive aromatic-white tradition

Pinot Gris

Body

Sweetness

Acidity

lemonpeachmangobanana

Dry and off-dry styles from northern Switzerland

Chasselas

Gutedel or Neuchâtel Blanc in Three Lakes

Body

Sweetness

Acidity

white flowerslemonwhite peachalmond

Linear, mineral, non-malolactic style distinct from Lavaux

Müller-Thurgau

Riesling-Sylvaner in Three Lakes

Body

Sweetness

Acidity

green applepeachlycheeelderflower

A small but distinctive plot on south-facing Murten slopes

Climate

CoolLake-moderatedContinentalLong ripening

Cool and continental, but rescued by water: the lakes of Neuchâtel, Bienne and Murten store summer heat and give it back through the autumn, stretching the season just far enough for Pinot Noir. Vineyards face southeast across the water from the foot of the Jura, catching morning sun and reflected light off the lakes.

Terroir

Jurassic limestoneMarlGlacial moraineGentle slopes

This is the last fold of the Jura, so the vines grow on Jurassic limestone and marl, often dusted with the glacial moraine left by the ice that carved the lake basins. The slopes are gentle, the soils calcareous and poor, and the Pinot Noir that results is pale, fine-boned and unmistakably limestone-grown.

Typical Aromas

Red cherryForest floorLemon balmCrushed stoneBriocheWild herb

Explore the aroma wheel

More in Switzerland

Geneva

German Switzerland

Ticino

Valais

Vaud