Tasted with David & Michelle Chapel in Régnié, 17 March 2022
Domaine Chapel
98 Chemin des Hortensias
La Haute Ronze
69430 Régnié-Durette
Tel: +33 6 64 94 91 46
www.domainechapel.fr
The domaine was started by David & Michelle Chapel in 2016 – they now have 5 harvests behind them.
Michelle explains “We started farming in 2018 – David had been working at Lapierre and I was a sommelier in Brooklyn. Our first vintage came courtesy of being able to use a tank at Lapierre to make a single-vineyard Juliénas. Today we have 4 hectares though we are already replanting half a hectare. Smith-Chapel is a négociant label that you might also find from us – we use this for organic vines on slopes, this includes some wines from the Mâconnais too. ‘Chapel’ is the label of our domaine wines.
“Vinifications are in tank with whole-clusters, no pigeage and remontage only if needed. We press when nearly dry so there’s a little extra sugar to ferment after pressing. We use no sulfur during vinification – it’s more a tool if needed – but it’s not been needed yet! 2g of sulfur per hl is added before bottling as we export a lot – our main markets are export – but we are working to increase ‘home’ sales now too.”
The wines…
My first tasting of these wines – and they lived up to the very positive words that had been shared with me – excellent and even great wines can be found here!
The Crus are normally bottled in July:
2020 Beaujolais Villages
A late-august pick, with some Lantignié and some declassified Regnié.
A nose with some roundness, easy but very attractive darker red fruit. A sweetness to this fruit but that’s a very delicious, nicely energetic, moreish wine.
2020 Smith-Chapel Juliénas Vayolette
This all volcanic bluestone.
A wider nose but a little more compressed – more showcasing the freshness and minerality than the fruit. Wider, more structured – still a sweetness of fruit but with more sweeping energy. The finish has much extra intensity and a little graphite minerality. That’s a really excellent wine.
2020 Chiroubles
2 parcels since 2018, one on the Fleurie side of the village the other on the Morgon side of the appellation.
Hmm, here’s a nicely complex, very attractive fruit with a fine accent of florals too. Again a wine that showcases its sweetness but here is a broad and freshly mobile flavour – supported by a faint tannin. Nice lip-smacking flavour with a modest counterpoint of finishing bitters. I find this excellent.
On 3 sides these vines are enclosed by the forest – ‘and we are fighting the forest as it tries to take over. It’s a quiet place – except for the flight-path of the fighter jets!’
A fresh nose, less overtly fruited – a little more saline and peppery but still with a little floral accent too. Ooh – that’s beautiful in the mouth – sweeping, fluid, fine texture. Just a nose short (today) of great wine – bravo!
And some 2019s:
A fine freshness – more of a vertical nose – depth and high tones. Sleek, direct, framed with an accent of tannin. I like the structure here. Great shape, very tasty again some extra sweetness but that’s a top wine!
A similar nose to the 2020, quite peppery – and why not. A hint of gas. Really mouth-filling – concentrated but really fresh. There’s almost a chewy aspect to the middle and finishing flavours here. That’s another top wine and more obviously for keeping a little while longer than the 2020 – almost the reverse of most wines!
There’s also a ‘north face’ wine made from these high vines – and from only (nearly!) 10 hl/ha in 2021:
2019 Fleurie ‘La Face Nord‘
A little floral perfume too. Supple, slightly padded but with an extra emphasis on the minerality versus the previous wine.