2022 Château du Moulin-à-Vent, Moulin-à-Vent La Rochelle – buy online

WHO?

The history of Château du Moulin-à-Vent dates back to 1732 when it was previously known as Château des Thorins. Both the Château and Beaujolais Cru take their name from the area’s emblematic windmill, built in 1550 and still standing today. In 2009, Jean-Jacques Parinet purchased the estate and, along with his son Edouard, began replanting 70,000 vines, moved to sustainable viticulture and invested in new French oak barrels in the cellar. In the 19th Century, a barrel of Moulin-à-Vent sold for more than a barrel of Chambertin, while in 1932, it was more affordable to purchase vines in ‘Clos de Tart’ than Moulin-à-Vent’s ‘Les Thorins’!

WHERE?

Beaujolais has experienced a turbulent history since then, yet thanks to a quality revolution in the 21st Century, the appellation is once again thriving today. As such, after tasting Chateau’s 1976 wine, Andy Howard MW (Decanter),  rightfully muses on its potential to be ‘considered alongside the finest Pinot Noir wines from a little further to the North’. Most recently, Moulin-à-Vent has filed to classify 14 of its 69 lieux-dits as 1er Cru sites. Château du Moulin-à-Vent are proud to own vineyards on eight of these (representing 80% of their vineyard holdings), including the single vineyards ‘La Rochelle’ and ‘Champ de Cour’.

WHY?

Moulin-à-Vent remains one of the most coveted Beaujolais Crus, leading the charge in repositing Cru Beaujolais as fine, age-worthy wines. Boasting 80-year-old vines planted on the top of a hillside, the 4.2-hectare ‘La Rochelle’ vineyard has shallower soils than `Champ de Cour`, comprising a mix of granite, sand, clay and elements of manganese and iron oxides. Yields are exceptionally low – around 13 hectolitres per hectare. The vine age, combined with an elevation of 280 metres, south-facing exposure and cooling winds, creates beautifully concentrated fruit and wines of finesse. Another site primed to imminently become a 1er Cru.