Moulin a Vent

The Vieilles Vignes is effectively Thibault’s Moulin-à- Vent business card, a blend of 10 parcels spread across seven hectares, with vines between 65 and 105 years of age. The 2016 vintage is the first for which he has used large foudres to raise the wine. There is a wonderful, old-vine intensity and concentration to this wine, great depth of flavour and power, but without reaching excess. The granite soil really comes through on the persistent, saline finish. Drink 2021-2029.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The excellence of Cru Beaujolais is something I have held dear for some time, but its ageing potential was first brought to my attention when I was served two Moulin-à-Vent wines from 1961 and 1962 produced by Camille Giroud. The freshness and complexity of these wines was simply astonishing and I have since made it something of a personal mission to return these great wines to their rightful place in the cellars and on the tables of the most discerning wine drinkers. The wines in our offer cover a range of styles; whole-bunch, de-stemmed, oaked, unoaked, elegant and floral, dense and structured. This almost endless variety and versatility is what is most fascinating about Gamay grown on Beaujolais’s volcanic soils. What the wines have in common, however, is that they all offer excellent value for money and great drinking pleasure.

Although from the same variety (100 percent Gamay), Thibault Ligier-Belair's concentrated, complex Beaujolais is poles apart from the bright and breezy nouveau style with which most drinkers are familiar. From eight parcels of vines of up to 95 years old, on the nose this shows an appealing hint of reduction which gives way to aromas of kirsch and dark berry fruit. The palate is characteristically mineral and tannic, and will benefit from decanting. Drink now to 2029.

Louis Boillot's maiden Beaujolais vintage from 4 ha of his own vineyards in Moulin-à-Vent. 50- to 60-year-old vines yielded 39 hl/ha in 2014. Extraction over three weeks in cuve. Maturation was 50% cuve, 50% barrel, of which 20% new, 80% three years old.
Lightish crimson. Lightly smoky and mineral with a hint of oak entwined with the peppery dark-red fruit. Lithe, juicy and delicious but not at all simple. Has both purity of fruit and an expression of origin. A little savoury note on the long finish. 
When to drink: 2016 - 2024
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com, 25 February 2016

This plot is on one of Moulin à Vent’s prime sites, almost next door to Olivier Merlin’s La Rochelle. There is hardly any topsoil and the vines are 80 years old. Fine, bright, full purple in colour, this wine displays a sense of nobility which stands out. An immensely classy bouquet – brilliant, suave, balanced and exceptionally fine on the palate. A wine to lay down.
(Jasper Morris MW, BBR Buyer)

Brilliant ruby. Suave red and blue fruit aromas show excellent clarity and are enlivened by smoky mineral and Indian spice flourishes. Sappy, sweet and expansive, offering intense boysenberry, cherry liqueur and floral pastille flavors and a hint of white pepper. Conveys a suave blend of richness and vivacity and finishes with smooth tannins and an intense echo of sweet blue fruit.
92 Points. Drinking window: 2018-2023
Josh Raynolds, vinous.com, June 2016

Thibault has made this cuvée since the 2009 vintage, having identified the site as special and isolated it from the blended Vieilles Vignes wine. The vines are at the bottom of the hill, on quite deep soils with a mix of blue/pink sandy granite and silt. The result is a rounded and soft expression of Moulin-à-Vent, arguably the most approachable of the range. There is a spicy, peppery Syrah note to the nose, then a touch of black olive and rich, concentrated red-black fruit, with sophisticated, silky tannins on the palate. Drink 2020-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The excellence of Cru Beaujolais is something I have held dear for some time, but its ageing potential was first brought to my attention when I was served two Moulin-à-Vent wines from 1961 and 1962 produced by Camille Giroud. The freshness and complexity of these wines was simply astonishing and I have since made it something of a personal mission to return these great wines to their rightful place in the cellars and on the tables of the most discerning wine drinkers. The wines in our offer cover a range of styles; whole-bunch, de-stemmed, oaked, unoaked, elegant and floral, dense and structured. This almost endless variety and versatility is what is most fascinating about Gamay grown on Beaujolais’s volcanic soils. What the wines have in common, however, is that they all offer excellent value for money and great drinking pleasure.

WOW! Or should that be WAW (What A Wine!)? 2015 was lauded as a great vintage in Beaujolais, producing wines of tremendous concentration which, in most cases, will benefit from lengthy cellaring. Olivier’s superb La Rochelle is bound to age well – as it always does – but isn’t necessarily typical of the vintage: tasting this wine, finesse is the first descriptor that comes to mind, rather than concentration or power. It’s positively aérien, with red fruit and floral notes to the fore. Olivier has gradually reduced the amount of new oak on this cuvée, and that seems a wise decision.
La Rochelle is an extraordinary vineyard for numerous reasons. Its eighty-year old vines are planted at a density of 12,000 per hectare (10,000 gives one metre between each vine). The granite bedrock lies close enough to the surface to peak through in places. The consequences for us, the lucky drinkers, include a pronounced mineral character to wine. In a warm vintage like 2015, it renders La Rochelle reminiscent of something from the Northern Rhône – let’s not forget, Moulin à Vent is, geographically, much closer to Côte-Rôtie than the Côte d’Or.
In short, this is a cheerful, supremely enjoyable wine, with a rare degree of complexity and serious capacity to develop over the next decade and beyond.
Will Heslop, Buyer. Berry Bros. & Rudd

This powerful, concentrated Moulin-à-Vent is distinctly Burgundian in style. The grapes are 100% de-stemmed, and the wine raised in 500-litre barrels (around 10% new). Expect aromas of juicy dark fruit, savoury spice and cola. The tannins are more supple than in the equally excellent Brussellions, suggesting this will be ready to drink a little earlier. Drink now to 2024.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (spring 2019)

Brussellions is a mean-looking vineyard with grey, sandy soils and frequent outcrops of reddish granite, but this is the sort of site on which Gamay shines. The 2017 Brussellions from Clément Boillot (son of Louis) is a case in point. Raised in 500-litre oak barrels, it is rich and structured, with assertive tannins and an emphasis on black fruit and herbal aromas. It will reward cellaring for up to a decade. Drink 2020-2027.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (spring 2019)

Moulin-à-Vent was badly hailed in 2017, so Olivier did not make a bottling of his single-vineyard La Rochelle, instead blending the fruit into this single bottling. Théo looked after the vinification, de-stemming the fruit and using very gentle extraction to produce a gorgeous, pretty wine with rich red and black cherry, white pepper and a concentrated but fresh feel. Drink 2019-2025.

Olivier is taking many steps to counteract the warmer summers and earlier harvests; managing the canopy to protect grapes from sunburn, using late-ripening rootstocks, reducing the amount of new oak he uses to keep the wines feeling fresher, and bringing harvest dates forward to retain acidity. The 2017 crop is around 15 percent down due to the dry summer which stressed the grapes. Picking began on 27th August and Olivier feels the wines are a little richer than 2016, but still with very good balance and well-integrated oak.

Recent vintages of Olivier’s Moulin-à-Vent wines have shown a move to a more elegant, less-extracted style, reducing the proportion of new oak That is not to say, however, that he has lost any of the classic pink granite expression for which Moulin-à-Vent is famous. From vines mostly planted in 1937, there is a real energy and concentration here. Rich red fruit combines with smoky pepper notes and a gorgeous floral perfume, while the stony tannins and incredible length point to great ageing potential. Drink 2020-2028.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The excellence of Cru Beaujolais is something I have held dear for some time, but its ageing potential was first brought to my attention when I was served two Moulin-à-Vent wines from 1961 and 1962 produced by Camille Giroud. The freshness and complexity of these wines was simply astonishing and I have since made it something of a personal mission to return these great wines to their rightful place in the cellars and on the tables of the most discerning wine drinkers. The wines in our offer cover a range of styles; whole-bunch, de-stemmed, oaked, unoaked, elegant and floral, dense and structured. This almost endless variety and versatility is what is most fascinating about Gamay grown on Beaujolais’s volcanic soils. What the wines have in common, however, is that they all offer excellent value for money and great drinking pleasure.

A modern style with upfront, vibrant and chewy oak in a well-executed combination with forward fruit. Glossy, luxurious and enjoyable.
Drinking Window 2018 - 2023
Andy Howard MW, James Lawther MW & Matt Wilkin MS, Decanter, (summer 2017)

Raised in a large foudre, this was one of the more generous cuvées in terms of yields (at 19hl/ha). The nose is a delight, with gorgeous, peppery spice and floral touches, while the palate offers dense, rich fruit and silky tannins. It’s seductive, but with the peppery structure behind to age. Thibault used 40 percent whole-bunch. Drink 2020-2026.

Thibault continues to keep himself busy, having bought more vineyards in Moulinà-Vent. In the Côte d’Or he waited until 13th September to pick, feeling that the skins were not ripe until that point. He describes the vintage as transparent, where each vineyard’s identity is clearly visible, and one where those with large yields will not be able to hide. In the Beaujolais, hail was again a significant factor, reducing the average yield for those wines he made to an eye-watering 8hl/ha. The damage was so bad that it cost more to pick the grapes than he will make on the wines, but he felt a duty to harvest and vinify the fruit. With careful use of the vibrating sorting table, he was able to carefully select only the clean fruit and has made exceptional wines.

Rich dark purple, previewing the opulent bouquet which includes some slightly chocolatey notes along with some mulberry fruit, before a crunchy mineral finish. Good weight and length.