Chateau du Moulin-a-Vent Moulin-à-Vent La Rochelle 2023
Chateau du Moulin-a-Vent Moulin-à-Vent La Rochelle
Region: Beaujolais, France
Vintage: 2023
Bottle size: 75cl
Grape: Gamay
ABV: 13%
This wine is bright violet in colour. On the nose, a powerful bouquet of cherries and violets is underpinned by hints of sage and flint. The palate is complex and elegant with supple tannins, fresh acidity and an impressively long finish.
The La Rochelle vineyard is 4.2 hectares and is situated at the top of a hillside at 280 metres above sea level. The soils are more shallow than those of the Champ de Cour vineyard with a mixture of granite, sand, clay and elements of manganese and iron oxides. The vines are 85 years old, this vine age coupled with south facing exposure and constant cooling winds around harvest time, means that the resulting berries are small with beautiful concentration and finesse. Yields are exceptionally low - around 13 hectolitres per hectare. The vineyards are farmed following both organic and biodynamic practices
Once at the winery, approximately 40% of the Gamay bunches were destemmed and the rest were left as whole clusters. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks with one pump-over per day. Half of the wine was then aged in used French oak barrels (five years old on average) for 18 months, the remaining 50% was kept in stainless-steel tanks.
Château du Moulin-à-Vent may be an 18th-century property, but its sights are firmly set on Beaujolais's future. Since taking over the estate in 2009, Jean-Jacques Parinet and his son Edouard have overhauled their vineyards, converting them to organic, with biodynamic practices and focusing on improving soil health.