Tasted in Moulin à Vent with Stéphane Lardet, 03 February 2020.
Maison Le Nid
Hameau Moulin à Vent
71570 Romanèche-Thorins
Tel: +33 6 82 88 61 01
www.lenid.fr
Stéphane on 2019:
“2019 was a very good vintage but because of the frost in April, we lost about 30%. We started some of our elevage in concrete to go with the foudres – it’s a first for us in 2019 – so we will see how that goes.”
Stéphane on 2018:
“A good result – we needed that, some volume to go with the quality, we want it every year now! We had plenty of rain early in the year but then came the sun. I currently see the wines as something between 2015 and 2016 – the density of the former, more the fruit and freshness of the 2016.”
The wines…
Three excellent wines…
As usual the domaine likes to show their bottled wines, hence, typically a year further back for this tasting – last year I tasted one 2016 and one 2017 – but after 14 months of elevage for the parcel selections, all were bottled in December. These 2018s won’t be commercialized for about 1 year – the parcels selection anyway. Stéphane was worried that they might be riper than 2015, but in the end, he thinks that there’s a nice freshness that runs through the wines. 2016 is the current commercial vintage.
2018 Moulin à Vent ‘Tradition’
10 months of elevage, the last with all foudre elevage.
Hmm, that’s an attractive, faintly sweet, almost spiced nose. Big, bright, nicely fresh acidity – a slightly rustic but deliciously energetic performance. That’s a tasty wine with quite some concentration from the middle onwards! Spiced finishing complexity. Very tasty wine…
2018 Moulin à Vent La Rochelle
The first time that this has been bottled since 2015 – as was either frosted or hailed in the previous vintages. Elevage in 3-6 year-old barrels
Ooh, that’s deep and impressive nose – much more style, More open and openly complex too. Deeply flavoured, almost a suggestion of chocolate, very long, fine of line and finishing with a saline accent. That’s completely excellent!
2018 Moulin à Vent Rochegrés
70-year-old vines at the top of the hill. Some new oak for this wine.
Ooh – that’s a deep colour. A nose that’s more compact on hand, but more floral on the other. Open, fresh, complex, über-fine of tannin. More structural at the core, oaked but more structurally than from a flavour perspective, some bitters in the finish and lots of complexity – a wine that begs your patience – but a completely excellent one!