Beaujolais

Alex’s is an exemplary Beaujolais-Villages, made the traditional way, using carbonic maceration and neutral (stainless steel) vessels. Expect lifted aromas of violets and red berries, lashings of juicy fruit on the palate, and a long, mineral finish – a nod to the protrusions of blue granite throughout Alex’s vineyards. In the region, a fresh, fruity Beaujolais-Villages like this might be paired with anything from charcuterie to roast chicken to a friture (akin to fried whitebait, traditionally fished from the Saône river) which illustrates just how versatile it is. It also makes a mouth-watering apéritif.
Will Heslop – Burgundy Buying Assistant, autumn 2018

The 2016 from Domaine de la Rocaillère is a fruit-driven vin de soif – but one with hidden depths. After all, it’s produced from old vines that are the envy of neighbouring domaines. Expect classic aromas of red fruit and violets, as well as the crisp acidity characteristic of the vintage. This is a great match for classic bistro fare such as steak frites or coq au vin.

The 2017 is the best vintage I’ve tasted of Rocaillère’s old-vine Beaujolais. On the nose, expect aromas of summer pudding and violets, while the palate offers something more profound: grippy tannins and a pronounced mineral character, which speaks of the vineyard’s shallow, rocky (granitic) soils. This super wine is at its vivacious best served lightly chilled, as an accompaniment to charcuterie or hard cheeses.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (winter 2019)

From the 2017 vintage, Alex’s Beaujolais Lantignié is made exclusively from his oldest and best-sited vines, primarily on blue granite, similar to that found on the Côte du Py (where Alex’s cousin Jean-Marc works his magic). It’s vinified in similar fashion to Alex’s Beaujolais Villages but with a slightly longer maceration, producing a more complex, concentrated wine, with an enchanting, lifted nose, reminiscent of a particularly fine Fleurie. Frankly, this puts most Cru Beaujolais in the shade, and fully endorses Lantignié’s fledgling bid for Cru status. Drink now or cellar for up to three years.  
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (autumn 2018)

A bouquet of ripe red and blue fruit speaks of the vineyard’s southerly aspect, but this cuvée – a perennial favourite of ours – retains the fresh acidity characteristic of Chiroubles. Sadly, production in 2017 was limited by hail so snap it up. Drink now to 2022.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (spring 2019)

From the parcel’s oldest vines, this is invariably more concentrated than the standard (non-Vieilles Vignes) Roilette. There’s an attractive savoury note to the nose, as well as the ethereal aromas of flowers and violets synonymous with the best wines of Fleurie. On the palate, expect fresh acidity and fine, chalky tannins. The 2017 is all the more impressive in light of the hail and drought that made for such a challenging vintage.
Will Heslop, Buying Assistant

This exceptional Fleurie combines the lifted, floral bouquet typical of the appellation with the density of fruit and tannin specific to the south-facing Moriers vineyard. Drink 2019 to 2025.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (spring 2019)

Jean-Marc’s vines at the top of the Côte du Py suffered from hail on May 19th, so his mid-slope south-facing vines – which, he says, are most expressive of the slope’s famous blue granite – had more of a say than usual in the final blend. While this has a hugely attractive bouquet of berry fruit and flowers, it’s the intense mineral character of the palate that makes a real impression. Expect mouth-watering acidity and firm, fine-grained tannins that soften with time in the glass or decanter. There’s plenty of ripe fruit too, courtesy of a relatively warm growing season. A brilliant wine from one of the finest terroirs in Beaujolais, not to mention one of the finest winemakers.
Will Heslop – Burgundy Buying Assistant

Having recently taken over from their father, brother and sister team Louis-Benoît and Claude- Emmanuelle Desvignes are making some of the most exciting wines in the village of Morgon, one of the top crus of Beaujolais. They make wines without using any oak, allowing the grapes and soil to express themselves.

Medium ruby in colour with vibrant purple highlights, the nose offers lifted, floral top notes and fresh raspberry fruit, while the palate is juicy, crunchy and energetic. There is a gentle sweetness to the red cherry fruit which marries seamlessly with the fine and chalky tannins. Drink now to 2024.

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.

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.

Thanks to the hail, this is a blend of three lieux-dits – Bel Air, Cercillon and Joie du Palais – which were harvested at a minuscule 8hl/ha. The fruit was all de-stemmed and raised in 350-litre barrels (because there wasn’t enough to go into a foudre). The result is unsurprisingly concentrated with lots of red fruit, plenty of weight and a finish of granitic tannins. Drink 2020-2025.

Michel Lafarge (b. 1928) and his son Frédéric make use of their combined experience to produce some of the greatest wines in Volnay. There is nothing modern in their winemaking, though the meticulous care of their biodynamically farmed vineyards puts the domaine at the forefront of viticultural practices. When they are working on a patch of vines they are usually accompanied by their hens who eat up any lurking pests. The grapes are de-stemmed, vinified traditionally and very little new oak is used in the cellar. In 2014, they purchased vineyards in the Beaujolais which are farmed using the same biodynamic practices as employed in the Côte de Beaune.

Frédéric was keen to highlight the solidarity shown between vignerons at the end of April, as they mobilised to put in place measures to prevent a repeat of the frosts of 2016. Burning dampened straw bales at strategic locations, they succeeded in creating cloud cover which saved the vast majority of the vineyards. He also stressed the importance of “fractional harvesting” – waiting until each parcel is fully ripe before picking – and feels that the domaine’s biodynamic practices allow the grapes to achieve even ripening and balance, a real boon in early vintages such as 2017. For those with long memories, 90-year-old Michel compares 2017 to 1947 and 1964.

From a parcel totalling 0.66 hectares, these 55-yearold vines are planted on blue granite soil on the Mont de Brouilly. A quarter was whole-bunch fermented. The nose has rich, almost black fruit and a touch of garrigue spice, while the palate is stony with meaty black cherry and a firm, mineral texture. Drink 2021-2028.

Michel Lafarge (b. 1928) and his son Frédéric make use of their combined experience to produce some of the greatest wines in Volnay. There is nothing modern in their winemaking, though the meticulous care of their biodynamically farmed vineyards puts the domaine at the forefront of viticultural practices. When they are working on a patch of vines they are usually accompanied by their hens who eat up any lurking pests. The grapes are de-stemmed, vinified traditionally and very little new oak is used in the cellar. In 2014, they purchased vineyards in the Beaujolais which are farmed using the same biodynamic practices as employed in the Côte de Beaune.

Frédéric was keen to highlight the solidarity shown between vignerons at the end of April, as they mobilised to put in place measures to prevent a repeat of the frosts of 2016. Burning dampened straw bales at strategic locations, they succeeded in creating cloud cover which saved the vast majority of the vineyards. He also stressed the importance of “fractional harvesting” – waiting until each parcel is fully ripe before picking – and feels that the domaine’s biodynamic practices allow the grapes to achieve even ripening and balance, a real boon in early vintages such as 2017. For those with long memories, 90-year-old Michel compares 2017 to 1947 and 1964

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.

The 2013 Moulin-à-Vent Les Rouchaux spent 12 to 15 months in barrel. Compared to the 2013 La Roche, the fruit here is less broody and more open, some red cherries beginning to appear with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a lightly spiced opening, chalky tannin, and a focused, intense finish that leaves boysenberry and citrus fruit on the aftertaste. This is an excellent, modern-style Moulin-à-Vent.
Neal Martin - Wine Advocate - robertparker.com - Apr 2015

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

A serious wine from the lower part of the eponymous Côte du Py, on les Javernières exactly. This cuvee is produced from the oldest vines…some were planted in…1914 (the youngest plants being 25+ years old but going to Les Javernières cuvee). South east facing on deep clay rich in iron oxide rich soils and whole bunch fermentations have contributed to give birth to a robust wine packed full character.

Ink black in colour with a profound and rich nose. Full, muscular and tight on the palate, this wine is youth at the moment and requires airing prior to drinking (consider morning for evening drinking – no decanting - at cellar temperature). This is a very promising wine which will develop nicely over the next 10+ years in a good cellar. A characterful example, Beaujolais at its very best!
Francis Huicq, London Shop Manager

A small bottling from some ancient – over 100 year old - vines in the clay-rich Javernieres vineyard at the foot of the famous Cote de Py hill. Despite coming in at just 12.4% alcohol, with no subsequent adjustment, this is utterly black in colour, with incredible density. Tasted from tank it showed a most astonishing density of fruit. One to put away for the long term!
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Buying Director

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.

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

Olivier Merlin uses a classic Beaujolais style fermentation, but has shortened the length of time in vat in the last few vintages to avoid undue astringency. This wine comes in part from La Rochelle (see below) and in part from other sectors of Moulin à Vent. There is a lovely perfume to the nose, followed by a complex palate with a touch of chocolate alongside the strawberry fruit. Drink 2013-2016.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director

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.

Les Rouchaux is always the finest of Louis’s Moulin- à-Vent wines, and always the closest in style to Pinot Noir. Unusually this year, 10 percent whole bunches were used, as part of an experiment by Louis’s son Clément, who runs the estate with his father. There is yet more freshness here, real energy, along with a supple and suave touch to the tannic structure. A wine of great finesse and texture. Drink 2021-2030.
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.

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)