Moulin A Vent Coeur De Granit, 2018, Cave du Chateau de Chenas

Critic Score: 16.5/20 Jancis Robinson. Plus 2 Gold Medals

“Concentrated, plump nose. Pronounced forest fruit with spice and flare; complex and extremely inviting. Gorgeous and intense, ripe red and black berry, hints of violets and silky smooth with superb length and a velvety finish. Perfect summers day wine and a great house red. Match with cheeses, cold meats, and just about anything savoury really! Drinks now beautifully, with oomph and complexity to keep for 3-5 years or more.”

Moulin-a-Vent is one of Beaujolais ‘ Crus’ , and considered the most powerful and Burgundy-like in all of Beaujolais, but... tend to be the most expensive. The wine comes from 50-year-old vines and is made by a great producer, 2018 was a long hot vintage, berries were small and packed a punch and the resulting wine is quite frankly gorgeous. Concentrated, complex and pure yet light on its feet – not unlike great Burgundy!

Taking its name from the ancient mill that sits prominently on one of its hills, Moulin à Vent is known as the 'king of Beaujolais'. This is the most velvety and voluptuous of the crus and the most powerful and ageworthy! Its wines can have a gorgeous Burgundy like richness that make for luscious, velvety reds with enough grip for potential cellaring. It's one of the most easterly of the cru villages and boasts crumbly pink granite soils, with seams of manganese. Moulin-a-Vent Coeur du Granit 2018 comes from grapes specially selected from old, low-yielding vines grown on classic granite soils. At around 50 years of age, these vines produce tiny quantities of ripe concentrated grapes, packed full of flavour, whole grape fermented for maximum fruit and aged in barrel like Burgundy.

This gorgeous fruit filled red is made at the Cave du Château de Chénas in a year described as legendary and the ranking alongside other standout years over the last decade such as 2017, 2015 and 2009. It is also important to recognise that it is not just us who love this one. Indeed, it has two noteworthy gold medals and even scored well from Jancis Robinson MW, who I think is the toughest wine critic! This Moulin à Vent cru is from a fabulous vintage AND a double Gold-medal winner with lush fruit and velvety black berry fruit and a savoury tobacco finish.