A nice tasting of Moulin à Vent producers’ wines in the grounds of the Château Moulin à Vent. It was a hot day so the producers were fighting to keep their wines at a decent temperature, but it was still a good opportunity to meet some new producers…
2015 Domaine Rochegrès, Moulin à Vent
(Albert Bichot) This Moulin à Vent contains not just Rochegrès, there are some younger vines in here too. A mix of fermentations, both here and in Pommard but blended and bottled in Beaune. Approaching 45 hl/ha – ‘so did well’
Plenty of volume and some modest tannin, at least versus the large-scale. Bright and impressive finishing for a basic wine – very tasty – but of course the vintage helps.
2014 Domaine de d’Eole, Moulin à Vent
Manual harvest, whole cluster.
Modestly spiced red fruit aroma. Silky, easy, an elegant texture, long with a little tasty bitter tannin and finishing sweetness. Easy, but very yum!
2015 Domaine de d’Eole, Moulin à Vent Aux Thorins
A little more aromatic depth. More depth of fruit on the palate too – more concentration, more weight of fruit flavour. A good wine, faintly spicy finishing.
2011 Domaine de d’Eole, Moulin à Vent Champs de Coeur
A tighter nose but with a little added floral impression. Nice line, more mineral, more floral, good energy. Lacks a little comfort today, but has plenty going for it – yummy all the same.
A nice floral note here. Also in the mouth – this is such a delicious, easy to approach version, of MAV – really tasty wine.
A little fresher and more floral. Hmm, lovely in the mouth – the most delicious wine yet – bravo…
Deep, meaty aroma with a faint herb – growing flowers. Very silky, good richness, gorgeously textured with a fine complexity.
2014 Le Nid, Moulin à Vent La Rochelle
A nice floral top note, direct, slowly melting flavour, a grab of tannin, long mouth-watering – super wine, but it says wait, the tradition 15 is drinking much easier today – almost too easily…
Fine, wide – really a super width, a slowly melting flavour. I find this the best – but not for drinking today – I still prefer the first for that, but the finish here is already delicious!
2012 Château des Jacques, Moulin à Vent Carquelin
There’s a faint oak aromatic here, but a fine floral side to the wine too. Nice richness of texture, growing width – a little more oak here again. Delicious, but I find too oaky.
2011 Château des Jacques, Moulin à Vent Rochegrès
Plenty of sous bois aroma here. In the mouth, fine textured a little floral, some oak in the finish but here there is lots of energy and a little minerality too. A very tasty finish
2006 Château des Jacques, Moulin à Vent La Rôche
Complex, floral, sous bois nose. More overtly delicious than the 2011. A hint of Marsala oxidation, but a nice width of complex almost balsamic flavours. Very interesting, and whilst tastier than the last, certainly not particularly delicious in the context of the tasting overall.
Whole-cluster, not a long maceration, maybe 10 days,
Deep colour. Deep, complex, a well of attractive dark fruit aroma. Nice volume and great texture. Perfumed flavour and with a fine weight of extract. Simply excellent!
2014 Olivier Merlin, Moulin à Vent La Rochelle
After fermentation this stays in barrel for 18 months. 5-12 yo barrels.
Floral, a little pyrazine style aroma. Nice freshness, pyrazine style flavour too but a big width of flavour and complexity. Long, delicious finishing – which for me balances the start.
A little herb but nice depth and a lot of aromatic complexity – a delicious nose! Nice freshness, nice richness and for a 13 this is really ‘together’ and simply delicious!
2015 Chateau des Gimarets, Moulin à Vent Tradition
All whole-cluster.
a nice aromatic volume of fruity dark freshness. Unlike the nose it’s only a modest volume in the mouth, but with a growing intensity. Long and quite good.
The cuvée name hidden away on neck label. All destemmed.
Hmm, that’s beautifully perfumed – a little fruit and a lot of flowers. Much more volume, energy and interest – the structure is a little hard and says wait more – but this will be lovely. Super.
2012 Chateau des Gimarets, Moulin à Vent Futs de Chene
Higher toned, not so obviously oaked but there’s a hint of barrel. Lovely energy here and freshness, richness – super complexity, but a wine to wait for – it’s tasty though – and you know I didn’t want to like it, given the name…
From bought grapes after his vineyards were devastated by hail.
Hmm, this tastes really good, delicious fruit good volume and density. Delicious wine – what a save for Richard!
Domaine fruit – what there was of it…
Hmm, complex, a hint of herb and fruit. Less easy than the ‘foudres’ cuvée but a hint more interesting. Mmm, richer texture, delicious texture. Deep and very young, long to wait for but really super.
Fresh, faintly spiced ripe fruit nose. Big, delicious wine with, hmm, richness of fruit, good energy. Big, very tasty stuff!
A suggestion of oak, but mainly higher toned floral notes – a really attractive nose. More of everything after the VV, including tannin, but super impressive wine!
2015 Louis Boillot, Moulin à Vent Brucellions
A tighter nose with faint flowers. Hmm, more muscle less volume, more intensity too. Super floral flavour – simply lovely.
2015 Domaine du Granit, Moulin à Vent Tradition
Cool maceration, a little destemming. 10% old wood the rest ss and concrete. A 12 hectare domaine but mainly their vines are in MAV
A little herby width. Nice energy and volume.
2014 Domaine du Granit, Moulin à Vent La Rochelle
Fresher, much redder fruit. A little less sweetness but with a nice line and good intensity. This will be good, but wait!
2011 Domaine du Granit, Moulin à Vent Cuvée Lucile-Maud
High spicy tones, narrower below. Lush, wide, delicious in the mouth with a mix of sucrosity and energy. Tasty wine!
2014 Thibault Liger-Belair, Moulin à Vent Rouachaux
Here the nose offers up a little oak but a pretty and saline complexity too. Fresh, lithe, nice growing intensity. Hmm this is a lovely wine with a super line. Yum!
2014 Thibault Liger-Belair, Moulin à Vent Vieilles-Vignes
Also here’s a faint oaky impression – that could be a little reduction. The wine is brighter, with fine intensity. Width and complexity – a tannin that is very modest but a hint blocky and says wait another 12 months (+) – a lovely finish…
A tighter nose, deep and dark fruit at the depth. Fresh, wide, a little mineral, muscular flavour that’s very young indeed. It will be utterly delicious but you should wait – or carafe a few hours if very impatient 🙂
Plenty of aromatic depth but a tighter width. Lovely dimension of flavour, some tannin. Young but absolutely delicious…
2014 Château Moulin à Vent, Moulin à Vent
Also a little tight, here with a little oaky reduction too. Wide, layered, oaky finishing complexity. More oak in the finish than I would like, but you can’t deny how delicious the wine is showing, in this style.
A hint of the floral here but still the same oaky-style reduction as the others – though on a little lower level. Hmm, this has a little more relaxed depth of flavour, less over oak and generally more togetherness. I like this a lot!
2014 Château Moulin à Vent, Moulin à Vent Champs de Coeur
Here is a modest, perhaps tight nose. Lots of energy here, a little minerality too – some herb in complexity. This needs the most time of all these wines to wait for, but all is in place I think.
The family saline, faintly oaky-style reduction. Behind, a certain sweetness. Hmm, mineral, direct, impressive stuff this – achingly young – you really have to wait, but this is a wine with great potential. I would check the next in 5 years! But bravo!