Tasted in La Chapelle de Guinchay with Charlotte Perrachon, 18 February 2021.
Château Bonnet – EARL Vins Pierre-Yves Perrachon
71570 La Chapelle de Guinchay
Tel: +33 3 85 36 70 41
chateau-bonnet.fr
More reports for Domaine Château Bonnet
Charlotte on 2019:
“We had some important losses particularly in Chénas where we lost more than a third – 25 hl/ha roughly – due to frost. But 2019 was really good a year of elegance and finesse – though it would have been better if I hadn’t broken my foot on the second day of the harvest! Rich and concentrated and I don’t know how long they will live but I like how they taste. In some places the volumes were about 70% lower than allowed, I don’t know how much of that is down to our organic approach and working the soil or the weather.”
The wines…
A lovely range of 2019s – a couple of which are worth a special search…
2019 Chénas Chat au Bonnet Rouge
‘The most supple and fruity of our Chenas – about 40-year-old vines.’
Starting tight but swirling brings a round and very attractive red fruit aroma. Supple – and mouth-filling – lovely energy, very delicious easy style of wine – but there’s concentration here too – finishing with a nice line of minerality.
2019 Chénas Le Clos
More elevage and a little more extraction during fermentation. All the vines around the château – effectively a monopole. Harvested a bit later than the last wine and use grill during fermentation for about a dozen days with a daily remontage.
A little extra colour. A more intense but also silky darker-red fruit. More mouth-filling, plenty of fine tannin but virtually no drying aspect. Lovely texture, wide, supple concentration too. That’s a very sophisticated and tasty wine.
The most on altitude – 2.65 ha in Bousset lieu-dit top left – a great year for St.Amour I think.
That’s a lovely nose – almost a vibrant beauty to this fruit. Mineral, cool-fruited, direct. Wide and mouth-watering- Lovely ripples, waves, of finishing flavour. That’s a great wine with a beautiful and subtle complexity. A great St.Amour.
2019 Juliénas Vieilles-Vignes
Vines very close to those in St.Amour. Two sectors, Gonards is the main. About 50-year-old vines. Bottled last week
A deeper nose, darker fruited, still with plenty of freshness, almost a little mentholated. Wider and fresher in attack – more structural wine. Long and mineral – though smaller finishing than the last. Totally different in style versus the St.Amour but equally interesting – excellent wine.
2019 Moulin à Vent
Still in tank, probably for bottling in April.
The nose isn’t on full form today – almost a chocolate powder impression – but behind is a nice purity of aroma. Mouth-filling lots of freshness – the first with a proper grain of tannin. A wine with potential but needing more elevage.
From the commune of Chénas, low down on granite so lost quite a bit to frost in 2019. Possibly not for bottling before the end of this year – will rack on a good moon in the next couple of months.
A deep nose, dark-fruited – wrapped with the aromas of barrel. Super in the mouth – concentrated yet incisive, practically juicy flavoured, a frame of tannin, faintly drying but it’s only a small accent and will probably be gone in a year or so. That’s wide and super finishing – a really excellent, potentially great MaV – but I’d wait a couple of years so that most of the oak is gone – mainly it’s aromatic oak today…
2019 Chénas Confience d’Echevin
Over 100-year-old vines, destemmed, about 20 days of cuvaison with about one year, perhaps a bit more, in barrel.
Also here, the oak is to the fore but with a silky aspect and a growing fresh perfume. Nice shape in the mouth – extra tannin, very finely grained but not astringency. Wide and beautifully textured. Long and subtly finishing there’s a much more elegant style to this wine. Really super…
Les Blancs:
2019 Beaujolais Villages Blanc Chat au Bonnet
Vines in the gravels, no limestone here. A tank sample. Some pre-fermentation maceration – this was cooled to 7°C
Bright, vibrant fruit – there’s a hint of mineral rigour behind but this has a fine invitation. Ooh, that’s very good, direct, slightly exotic fruit but mineral without rigour – quite saline in the finish. That’s an excellent BJVB…
2019 Beaujolais Villages Blanc
The same juice from En Perelle, but this had fermentation in barrel.
A more oaked nose – still mineral. Extra fresh and direct, the oak is present but this is surprisingly direct and fresh – more-so than the tank version. Wait 12 months for the oak to fade.