Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesThe 2019 Moulin-à-Vent Clos de Rochegrès is lovely, wafting from the glass with scents of peonies, red berries, exotic spices and orange rind, its élevage once again imperceptible, even at this early stage. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and sensual, it's ample and layered, with a vibrant core of fruit, melting tannins and succulent acids. If the 2018 was saturated in hue and defined by rich reserves of fruit and tannin, the 2019 is more elegant and fragile, with more ethereal aromas; it's only the wine's comparatively elevated alcohol that betrays the fact that it, too, is the product of a warm, dry, sunny vintage.
A weighty and ripe wine, this Gamay's powerful black tannins are brimming with succulent dark cherry and lasting berry flavors. There’s a green note, like fennel, and some superripe edges of fresh and dried plums, a satisfying red to serve with squab grilled with fennel.
The bucolic region often identified as the southern part of Burgundy, Beaujolais actually doesn’t have a whole lot in common with the rest of the region in terms of climate, soil types and grape varieties. Beaujolais achieves its own identity with variations on style of one grape, Gamay.
Gamay was actually grown throughout all of Burgundy until 1395 when the Duke of Burgundy banished it south, making room for Pinot Noir to inhabit all of the “superior” hillsides of Burgundy proper. This was good news for Gamay as it produces a much better wine in the granitic soils of Beaujolais, compared with the limestone escarpments of the Côte d’Or.
Four styles of Beaujolais wines exist. The simplest, and one that has regrettably given the region a subpar reputation, is Beaujolais Nouveau. This is the Beaujolais wine that is made using carbonic maceration (a quick fermentation that results in sweet aromas) and is released on the third Thursday of November in the same year as harvest. It's meant to drink young and is flirty, fruity and fun. The rest of Beaujolais is where the serious wines are found. Aside from the wines simply labelled, Beaujolais, there are the Beaujolais-Villages wines, which must come from the hilly northern part of the region, and offer reasonable values with some gems among them. The superior sections are the cru vineyards coming from ten distinct communes: St-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly. Any cru Beajolais will have its commune name prominent on the label.
Delightfully playful, but also capable of impressive gravitas, Gamay is responsible for juicy, berry-packed wines. From Beaujolais, Gamay generally has three classes: Beaujolais Nouveau, a decidedly young, fruit-driven wine, Beaujolais Villages and Cru Beaujolais. The Villages and Crus are highly ranked grape growing communes whose wines are capable of improving with age whereas Nouveau, released two months after harvest, is intended for immediate consumption. Somm Secret—The ten different Crus have their own distinct personalities—Fleurie is delicate and floral, Côte de Brouilly is concentrated and elegant and Morgon is structured and age-worthy.