Tasted in Charnay-lès-Mâcon with Barbara Cueille, 17 February 2020.

Maison Trenel
Chemin de Buèry
71850 Charnay-lès-Mâcon
+33 3 85 34 48 20
www.trenel.fr

More reports for Maison Trenel

Barbara Cueille had been with Maison Trenel for just one month, having replaced Nicolas Dietrich who has moved on, and she was already given the hard job of opening a few bottles for me!

Barbara on 2019:
“Well, it was a complicated vintage – frost, hail, small harvests – but also one of good quality – so clearly not an easy vintage for the volumes and contracts.”

Barbara on 2018:
Better of-course, as there was quantity and quality.

The wines…

A really great range of whites, all the way from the Beaujolais Blanc onwards. The reds are fine enough, but for once at this producer, excellent but not great…

All the bottling of 2018 is practically done – only the Pouilly-Vinzelles was still waiting, so we tasted the 2017:

First, Les blancs…
Never made with bought yeasts, very little barrel for elevage too. All is ‘classic’ cork here:

2018 Mâcon-Charnay
Here with 20% barrel elevage – 228 l barrels.
Less wide but there’s an inviting depth of aroma here – this is showing the roundness of some oak – but it’s not distracting. A little rounder but fresh, cool, sleek fruit here – this is shaping up to be a great set of whites! Absolutely delicious.

2018 Viré-Clessé
From Viré. Fermentataion in stainless but elevage in 30% oak.
A little more exotic aroma – towards pineapple. Wide, a little more depth to the texture, depth of concentration too – the finish is gorgeous and with a little salinity too – but for the first flavours I prefer the extra freshness of fruit found in the earlier wines. Excellent even if more exotic-fruited.

2018 Pouilly-Fuissé
Three different parcels assembled to make this wine, all-barrel elevage, 10% new.
A little yellower. Fine depth of aroma despite a slight compact aromatic. Lovely freshness again, intensity again – wider, more concentrated – a wine for patience I think. The oak accenting the middle and finishing flavours. That’s another great wine but have a little patience.

Three ‘climat’ wines, the first a 2017:

2017 Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Quarts
Different bottle shape and (black) wax-topped. All barrel but 500 litre barrels for 12 months.
That’s a nice nose – more than accented with pepper – the oak present but not too overt. Wide – really mouth-filling, no aggression, slowly melting. Slightly less overtly delicious versus the 2018s but this needs a little time. A lovely energy and concentration that’s only faintly oaked in the finish. Excellent, still wait 1-2 years…

2018 St.Véran En Terre Noire
From Davayé at the bottom of the Rock of Vergisson, all barrel elevage but none new. ‘This should be the more mineral of these last two whites.’
Fresh, perhaps more openly exotic fruit – certain a more overt depth of ripe fruit. A touch of gas. Yes, wider, more intense and driving – the finish shrinks quite quickly then holds a fine, if narrower, length. The oak modestly visible in this smaller volume of finish. Definitely wait a little for the oak to fade if that’s your wish – this is excellent.

Les Rouges:
The reds, all are bottled except the final three which were samples from tank, to be bottled in the next days:

2018 Coteaux Bourguignone
From the south of Beaujolais – only gamay – a commercial label as there’s demand for CB! I suppose more than Beaujolais!
Modest colour. A little reductive but slowly opening – a nose with deep fruit but not much interest to start. Almost a deep pyrazine to the nose – more peanut in style. It’s there of the palate too – otherwise, the shape is fine – it could have a little more energy too… Stick to Beaujolais!

2018 Beaujolais
Screw-cap.
More colour. Again a little peanut but a less, also a much more attractive freshness of aroma. Also in the mouth – certainly much classier than the previous wine – with intensity and cool, fresh fruit with fine texture. The pyrazine is modest today but visible, essentially a wine of finely vibrant flavour – it’s very good.

2018 Beaujolais Villages
Clochemerle and Le Perreon – 30-60-year-old vines 30% destemmed.
Plenty of colour again. Narrow but here there’s plenty of fresh depth to the aroma, gaining some attractive high-tones with aeration. Wide, sweeping lines of fresh flavour, a great starting texture before the tannin starts to rise. This is a wine of intensity and a little less sweetness that you would be advised to wait for – 18 months to 2 years. It’s excellent…

2018 Côte de Brouilly
One parcel for the last years – Le Pave – vines 40-60 years-old. Concrete elevage with 15% barrels.
Plenty of colour again. A depth of darker fruit – like the last, not showing overt sweetness until some attractive higher tones start to be released. That’s lovely in the mouth – a step-up for sure – wide, vibrant. A modest framing of the flavour with a tannic impression but no grain. More a width of minerality in the finish – it holds long here – almost finishing graphite in style. An understated finish, but very good wine.

2018 Chiroubles
A vigneron that sells exclusively to here. South-facing vines relatively on altitude. The elevage in concrete tanks for 6 months.
Plenty of colour. A big nose, deeply fruited – lacking a bit of attraction to start. In the mouth it’s concentrated, a little saline – and seems to have freshness – but at the same time seems to lack energy to start – it grows and grows – but I struggle to find the delicious side of this wine – maybe it could come with time(?)

2018 Fleurie
Bottled last week. No destemming. A part vinified in foudre the rest in stainless-steel.
More open and indeed slightly floral – much more attractive than the Chiroubles at this stage. Incisive, more structural but also mouth-watering with plenty of sucrosity. Showing its structural side today – but that’s good – there’s plenty of delicious flavour behind. Have a little patience – excellent.

2018 St.Amour
Part Capitans the other Paradis. Vines about 60-year-old, whole cluster, elevage in cement.
Deeper colour. A little starting reduction and salinity. Full, concentrated but with energy and some mouth-watering freshness too. The nose is going to take its time to open, but the shape, concentration and deliciousness are already in-place on the palate – just a little patience is required – excellent!

2018 Juliénas
Three different climats. 30% destemmed, concrete tank elevage
A little less colour than the St.Amour. A more open nose – wide and saline with an almost inky depth. Fresh, fine energy, a little muscle too. This showing more minerality than the St.Amour too – certainly more complex and interesting today – excellent again.

2018 Morgon Côte du Py
Plain-south facing, all destemmed with a longer maceration. Conrete plus 25% barrel elevage.
A shade deeper colour than the Juliénas, less than St.Amour. That’s a nose of concentration – aeration offering some extra freshness. Fresh, wide, mouth-filling. Like the nose there’s concentration here but the energy is on a good level so it’s balanced. Persistent – that’s a super finish. You will have to patient with this wone, but it has all that it needs – potentially excellent wine.

2018 Moulin à Vent
15% barrel, none new. From La Rochelle
A little spiciness and lots of depth – still a nose that needs to develop and open more. Super shape in the mouth, a faintly grainy complexity – typical for MaV. Finishing rather elegantly but also long. That’s a lovely wine – and you don’t need to be overly patient.

Not yet bottled, these are domaine vines:

2018 Fleurie La Madone
Maceration a little longer.
Hmm – that’s quite an open nose, slightly sweet but wide and a little saline too. Energy and intensity – more electric – great energy – a rather structural approach but no hard edges. Wide, slowly mouth-watering in the finish. This is at least excellent, potentially delivering even more with time.

2018 Fleurie La Levrette
To be bottled this afternoon.
Plenty of colour. A more inky depth of aroma – some balancing floral freshness – but not quite full-power here. Lots of volume and freshness – even more energy, some fine complexity is also visible. Intense – here’s a wine for plenty of patience, almost a spicy style to the ample finishing flavours. This will be at least excellent with a little patience. Very impressive…