Our venue was the Château Moulin à Vent for a tasting of a dozen producers’ wines and a little jazz-party afterwards – I managed to snap all the producers bar Thibault Liger-Belair who vanished in a puff of smoke…
Château des Jacques
47 Les Jacques
71570 Romanèche-Thorins
Tel: +33 3 85 35 51 64
www.chateau-des-jacques.fr
2015 Moulin à Vent
Deep aromas, but a brightness of red fruit too. Volume with freshness, layers of complexity. This is very much baby wine, but an impressive baby… really a fine finishing intensity
2014 Moulin à Vent
More floral and perfumed, a hint of vanilla too. Again freshness, good, depth, more salinity – open with good concentration – the oak showing more than the 2015.
2014 Moulin à Vent Rochgres
A little more depth of red fruit here, backed with an extra mineral freshness. Really a mouth-filling volume with extra energy, minerality and a beautifully pure line of fruit. Super!
2013 Moulin à Vent Rochgres
A nice width of fruit aroma that reminds of the 2014. In the mouth this showing more width, more complexity too – really a more overt intensity but today with less drinkability. It has more of everything except drinkability today. Will be super in 2-3 years.
2008 Moulin à Vent Clos des Thorins
A more subtle nose, softer too with good complexity. This has much in common with the 13 in terms of size, energy and complexity – it’s just a little softer and easier but still far from ‘ready’ today. It will be super too, but I’m afraid you still have to wait.
Domaine Louis Boillot et Fils
4 Rue du Lavoir
21220 Chambolle-Musigny
Tel: +33 3 80 62 80 16
2016 Moulin à Vent Cuvée Vieilles-Vignes
Hmm this has a lovely perfume of fruit and flowers. Volume, depth of texture, some salinity – in fact lots of salinity. Wait a little for the palate to catch up but the nose is fabulous.
Hmm, again beautifully perfumed. Also again really saline, full of energy and mouth-watering length. Vibrant finishing, mineral flavour. Top!
2016 Moulin à Vent Les Rouchaux
A nose that’s more of fruit and more direct. Hmm, very mineral but also the most fruited of these wines, layers of impressive flavour. This is simply delicious! The most round and open – excellent…
Ooh nice width, a light vibration – ooh depth of flavour and concentration wrapped in the best texture. So young, but beautiful over the palate. Long with a small complexities of fresh flavour. Top again!
Château du Moulin à Vent
4 Les Thorins
71570 Romanèche-Thorins
Tel: +33 3 85 35 50 68
www.chateaudumoulinavent.com
2016 Moulin à Vent Couvent des Thorins
Hmm, here is a lovely depth of aroma with a sweetness of fruit too. Excellent texture, with depth of flavour too. This is really top-level. Excellent wine.
A deeper, almost inkier depth of aroma. Mineral, complex, fresh and open – many layers – this is showing brilliantly today…
2015 Moulin à Vent Verillats
The nose is a little narrower, but shows a lovely fruit. Depth and deliciousness, layers of sumptuous flavour, complexity and plenty of freshness. Mineral notes linger very long. Excellent again…
2015 Moulin à Vent Champ de Cour
A width of freshness, flowers and mineral complexity. Lots of energy here, slowly lingering as the flavour melts over the palate. All these wines are showing great today…
Domaine Olivier Merlin
71960 La Roche Vineuse
Tel: +33 3 85 36 62 09
www.merlin-vins.com
All the parcels are now worked by horse here…
2016 Moulin à Vent
A mix of 4 climats, not long in bottle.
A little mix of pyrazine and flowers. A lovely mouth perfume even with the pyrazine. This is wide, sumptuous and begs drinking!
2015 Moulin à Vent
Narrower but deeper and more muscular, plenty of fruit here. More grain of tannin but freshness blended with energy here. A wine that will reward patience, but it tastes pretty great today.
2016 Moulin à Vent La Rochelle
Perfumed despite, again, a vibration of pyrazine in the flowers and fruit. More volume in the mouth, super texture but a wine to wait for – 5 years but you will be rewarded.
2014 Moulin à Vent La Rochelle
Not a big nose but a super nose – the best of these. Open, fresh very floral – delicious but more slight than all the others despite a great line and good intensity. Super-drinkable.
Château des Gimarets
Route de la Chapelle
1213 Les Gimarais
71570 Romanèche-Thorins
Tel: +33 3 85 35 21 60
www.chateaudesgimarets.fr
2014 Château des Gimarets, Moulin à Vent l’Esprit de ma Terre
Destemmed, wild yeast, a mix of parcels – the domaine is just behind the Château de Moulin à Vent.
A herby nose. In the palate too, a rather a herbal wine but with volume, energy and good texture. Overall average though.
2013 Château des Gimarets, Moulin à Vent Fût de Chêne
A little more floral – much nicer – I can’t see the oak yet. Bigger volume in the mouth, a little rasp of tannin, good texture and depth again. No overt oak, just a floral accent to the fruit. I didn’t really expect to like this, given the uninteresting name, but it’s lovely.
Château Bonnet
(EARL Vins Pierre-Yves Perrachon)
71570 La Chapelle de Guinchay
Tel: +33 3 85 36 70 41
chateau-bonnet.fr
2015 Château Bonnet, Moulin à Vent
Hmm – the aroma has a lovely, attractive, sweetness. There’s a layered impression, with a little saline accent to the flavour, and a lovely extra complexity of fine fruit – this is excellent!
2015 Château Bonnet, Moulin à Vent Vin de Garde
One year of oak elevage but no new barrels – this is the cuvée with a picture of Charlotte’s (old) dog on the label…
Extra aromatic depth with a small hint of herb. Volume in the mouth, lots of complexity, a little extra depth to this texture – not particularly better than the last wine, just a different. A super wine. Finishing really well – perhaps the sole point where there’s something extra vs the last wine.
Domaine Paul Janin & Fils
La Chanilière
71570 Romanèche-Thorins
Tel: +33 3 85 35 52 80
www.domaine-paul-janin.fr
2016 Moulin à Vent Vignes de Tremblay
Hmm – depth of aroma with a beautiful layer of floral perfume above. Hmm (again) – a super combination of texture and depth of flavour – dark and deliciously fruited. Simply an excellent wine, finishing mineral and saline.
Just a little narrower nose but again with dark fruit and flowers. Extra minerality. A wine that is more open – really very impressive – with just a faint touch from the tannin. Bravo…
What a depth of colour – almost saturated. “Yes I was thinking of putting some to the side to add to other vintages!“says Eric. A tighter nose but with little touches of freshness. So concentrated but all the while with fine energy. Such a wine, but it will amply repay your patience – there is just so much here!
Maison Le Nid
Hameau Moulin à Vent
71570 Romanèche-Thorins
Tel: +33 6 82 88 61 01
www.lenid.fr
2016 Moulin à Vent Tradition
A blend of parcels.
Not the most open nose but it’s very attractive all the same. Plenty of mouth-filling volume, layers of flavour, indeed really super layers of melting flavour. This is a great ‘entry’ wine. Super.
2015 Moulin à Vent La Rochelle
Starts a little mineral, becoming ever-more red-fruited and open. Good volume, a little extra tannin. Fine energy, more to wait for than the last 2016. The finish is super – yum!
2015 Moulin à Vent Rochegrès
A deep, inky nose – impressive stuff. Fills the mouth, intense, complex, great wine – bravo. Waves of finishing flavour too.
Domaine Moulin d’Eole
D68
69840 Chénas
Tel: +33 4 74 04 46 88
moulindeole.fr
2016 Moulin à Vent Les Thorins
A deep, deep nose, just a little meaty. Mouth-filling, full-flavoured, very carbonic in style but with a layered delivery – lots of wine here. Tasty wine…
2015 Moulin à Vent Les Thorins
Like the last, semi carbonic, concrete tank vinification.
Deep, lots of aromatic concentration – a little cheese?. A more granular tannin, lots of flavour complexity. A small bitterness in the finishing complexity. A little monolithic today yet with plenty of flavour!
2015 Moulin à Vent Champ de Cour
Like the last, there’s a small note of cheese on the nose but it’s a big and concentrated nose all the same. Concentrated but with a little extra freshness, class even. Hmm – this has the best finish of these – it’s very good here, yum!
Domaine du Granit
Les Pinchons
69840 Chénas
Tel: +33 4 74 06 77 53
www.domaine-du-granit.com
2015 Moulin à Vent Tradition
A narrower nose, with a faint pyrazine energy here. Good volume in the mouth, layers of flavour too – a fine concentration. It shows well with a little floral complexity in the finish…
2015 Moulin à Vent Les Caves
All destemmed, cool maceration of 3-4 days, total one month. 1 year in barrel then assembled for a couple of months.
Hmm, deep, fresh, dark and mineral. This is super – mouth-filling, complex, mineral and saline. Long and mouth-watering…
2014 Moulin à Vent La Rochelle
A little extra roundness to this nose – it’s more open and inviting. Ooh – delicious, fresh, with sucrosity, layers of flavour, a faint mix of pyrazine and salinity? It’s anyway delicious with a lovely tension. A wine with a super-attractive personality!
2013 Moulin à Vent Cuvée Lucile-Maud
A nose that’s both fresh and vibrant – practically a little clean and soapy! I love the line here, direct, melting flavour with a fine energy. Excellent wine…
Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair
32 rue Thurot
21700 Nuits St.Georges
Tel: +33 3 80 61 51 16
www.thibaultligerbelair.com
2015 Moulin à Vent Les Rouchaux
40% wc, 18 months elevage.
A deep but vibrant dark-fruited aromatic. Hmm – a floral freshness in the flavour here, yet still deep, sweet and deliciously mouth-watering.
2015 Moulin à Vent Vieilles-Vignes
9 different vines with a mix of soil/rock-types.
Here the nose is denser with a hint of stewing fruits. But the palate is fresh, with a super line of flavour. The freshness helping to push the finish rather long. Much, much nicer than the nose suggests. There are 50% wc used here – it’s a super wine but I’d like a nicer nose.
2015 Moulin à Vent Les Perelles
More quartz here. ‘Really a more luminous area as the sun reflects from the stone.’
Also a nose that’s a little stewed in style. Wide, intense too – layered flavour but a little stewed flavour like the nose. Impressive but less my style.
Domaine Rochgrès
(Maison Albert Bichot)
6 Boulevard Jacques Copeau
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 24 37 37
www.albert-bichot.com/rochegres
“We were fortunate not to be touched by the hail in 2016, I can’t say that about 2017!” says Alain Serveau.
2016 Moulin à Vent
A mix of destemmed fruit and whole clusters with a little time for cool maceration. The mix of destemmed and whole clusters go to Beaune for the vinification.
A higher tone of faint but sweet stems. Supple, concentrated, faintly saline then a big, slow-moving, wave of flavour over the palate. Long, modestly intense finishing – but with super length.
2015 Moulin à Vent Rochegrès
Essentially the same area as the last wine but here are the old vines – starting with 80 years old!
Hmm – such depth of aroma, here with an accent of sweetness to the dark fruit. Hmm (again) – wide, melting, delicious flavour, faintly with tannin, complex finishing. Simply excellent wine…