Moulin-à-Vent "La Rochelle" (LIBRARY)

France
Beaujolais
2015

100% Gamay. Jean-Paul bottles a straight Moulin-à-Vent but additionally does two lieu-dit-specific versions. This one is La Rochelle, the second-highest parcel in the Moulin appellation, east-facing and midslope with well-drained, shallow sandstone and pink granite soils rich in iron. The fruit for this bottling comes from vines aged 60+ years old. The wine is vinified like the other Terres Dorées reds: the hand-harvested bunches are destemmed and fermented with native yeasts and without sulfur in concrete. The maceration is lengthy like that for the regular Moulin-à-Vent bottling, lasting up to 6 weeks; it too is aged in wood before being bottled with a light, non-sterile filtration and minimal sulfur.

 

93 points
"Brilliant ruby. Heady, mineral-accented cherry, cassis and floral pastille scents, along with hints of Indian spices and licorice. Sappy, impressively concentrated blackberry and bitter cherry flavors smoothly blend richness and finesse and pick up a smoky nuance with aeration. For its richness, this wine is showing excellent clarity and nerviness. Closes very long and sweet, displaying suave, interwoven tannins and an echo of ripe dark fruit."
Josh Raynolds,
Vinous Media
October 2017
93 points
"This is really minerally and direct with a pretty density of fruit and a really direct and linear direction on the palate. Racy and fine. Drink or hold."
James Suckling,
jamessuckling.com
October 2017

SKU/Code: 
DB3959-15
Product Line: 
Wine
Red
Varietal: 
Gamay
Farming Type: 
Sustainable