Beaujolais - MOULIN-À-VENT: The Secrets of Greatness

Beaujolais series 13 / 14

By Stuart Pigott – last revision: 22.04.26 

Vineyard Area: 603 hectares (2024)

Proportion of Total Production: 5% (2024)

Appellation established: 1936

This is the final installment of my 12 stories about the red wine appellations of the Beaujolais region, but it's not quite the end of my Beaujolais series, because a story on the whites and rosés of the region will follow. This is surely a good moment to step back and take stock. Clearly, many readers are interested in this subject, nobody begged me to write such an epic about it, nor to undertake the long and intense month of work that was necessary to taste all the wines (454 up to this point) and write all these stories. However, this innovation -  as far as I can see, none of my colleagues ever did this, except for Natasha Hughes MW in her new book - struck me as inherently worth all this effort. At StuartPigott.com WE MUST INNOVATE !

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PART ONE: La Logique du Richesse et Grandeur

Let’s be serious and critical for a moment, but in a very sensual way, as I have tried to do right through this series. Don’t forget we already had les fleurs du mal and I know it’s only rock 'n’ roll, but I like it!

In Beaujolais there’s a thread running through the red wines of all the region’s 12 appellations: the special fruit and freshness of the Gamay grape. It’s not for everyone, but those who enjoy that very often find it exciting and fascinating. Beyond this, we have seen that in spite of all the complications of terroir - we saw that even tiny Chénas is not geologically homogenous -  each appellation has its own personality. For example, Fleurie tends to be about floral elegance, whereas Morgon is more focused on structure and Côte de Brouilly on minerality. We also found that these things are only partly the result of terroir character, and partly a beautiful human construction that generations of vignerons have worked on. (I don’t think that’s something specific to Beaujolais, rather I find it in Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhône, etc, etc).

So, what is the guiding principle of Moulin-à-Vent? I am hardly sticking my neck out when I say that they are often rich wines. Particularly in the warm and dry years that have become more common (think 2025, ’23, ’22, ’20, ’19, ’18)  14% plus is not uncommon. And in the hands of those vignerons who go with the flow, that results in grand wines. At first glance it’s hard to understand how that should be. 

There are certainly much more dramatic vineyards in this region than the gentle slopes that are the norm in Moulin-à-Vent. The optical contrast between them and the steep and sometimes rugged slopes of Chiroubles is a stark one, but altitude is not also an important factor in shaping those wines.  Moulin-à-Vent is named after an ancient windmill that stands on ground 278 meters above sea level. Most of the vineyards of the appellation are at this altitude or lower altitudes. The average altitude of Moulin-à-Vent is 255 meters compared with 410 meter for Chiroubles.

The importance of this is that with each 100 meters in altitude that you climb the average temperature drops by 0.65°C, which means that the difference in average temperatures between the two appellation is slightly more than 1°C. In fact, it’s larger than that, because there’s more wind at higher altitudes. Over the entire growing seasons this adds up to a very significant difference. 

On top of this, a large part of Moulin-à-Vent has deep and ancient alluvial soils that hold water very well. So, during a summer drought when the water reserves in the shallow and stony granite soils of Chiroubles are exhausted, there’s still plenty of water in the deep, alluvial soils of Moulin-à-Vent.In this situation the vines in Chiroubles will stop doing photosynthesis and ripening the grapes, whilst those in Moulin-à-Vent keep on  rolling. Do the math, then you know that two plus two makes four.

It’s the combination of the warm location and generally water retentive soils is the explanation for the grandure and richness typical of Moulin-à-Vent. Yes, there are some higher altitude sites like the lieux-dits Au Mont / Le Mont and Au Michelons / Les Michelons where there’s rather shallow pink granite soil, and there are a few locations with this kind of soil that are lower lying like the lieu-dit Aux Caves. And, certainly, these things accounts for many of the terroir differences in Moulin-à-Vent. But they are exceptions to the rule.

Love it or loathe it, wine is always complicated / complex, so there’s also the divergence of the paths between single-vineyard wines and blends of wines from a number of sites. The leading proponents of the latter approach, Eric Janin of Domaine Paul Janin told me that it always leads a better harmony. It certainly works extremely well for him, and for decades it was the dominant approach. Just a few years ago I drank a Moulin-à-Vent of this kind from the 1966 vintage, and it was a still delicious, amazing. Then, with the arrival of the post-crisis generation of new vignerons like Yohan Lardy the trend flipped in the single-vineyard bottling direction. Why? Because this path can lead to more individual wines, and that’s what a majority of interested consumers now want. However, neither of these paths is inherently better than the other.

Then, there are the winemaking decisions that result from a vigneron prefering either freshness and vitality or richness and power. The wines from Domaine Paul Janin and Le Nid lie at the latter end of the stylistic scale. The opposite inclination leads people like Richard Rottiers to pick earlier than most of his colleagues, and the brilliant results with moderate alcohol speak for themselves. The historic Château des Jacques also strives tirelessly in this direction, but here there is more obvious oak; a stylistic / aesthetic decision. That’s nothing new, rather the tradition that goes back to 1924 when the estate took more or less its current form. If you want a synthesis of Burgundian finesse and elegance (plus the subtle oak this entails) with Gamay and Moulin-à-Vent, then you’ll love the 2024s from Château des Jacques! They are a refinement of what the winery has been doing for the last century.

Finally, there’s Georges Duboeuf with two wines from lieux-dits in contrasting styles: I don’t smell or taste any oak in the Georges Dubeouf  Moulin-à-Vent Au Michelon  2024, but I do get wonderful fruit).However, oak aromas leapt out at me from the glass of Georges Dubeouf  Moulin-à-Vent Au Mont  2024. And why not take divergent paths? Both are excellent wines!

PART TWO: And the Secret is Revealed !

In the introductory story of this series I told you this is personal and, „it’s driven by revelations with what I call New Beaujolais. The last of these occurred during my last trip to the region at the beginning of March this year, but I’m not going to tell you which wine it was here and now, because suspense is a powerful tool for every storyteller.“ Now, it’s time to reveal which wine that is, and this means it is a Moulin-à-Vent. „What to you mean it’s not from Morgon?“ I hear a horde of wine freaks scream out,and I accept the fact that my openly declared excitment about the Côte de Brouilly appellation also doesn’t square with this. However, 29 of the 67 Moulin-à-Vents I tasted for this story gained ratings of 95+. WHOA!

That aligns rather precisely with the price this location commands. Moulin-à-Vent has the most expensive vineyards in Beaujolais, the average cost of land in Moulin-à-Vent being 100,000 Euros per hectare. However, this has to been in context: in Bordeaux a hectare of vineyard in Pauillac or Pomerol averagesaround 2 million Euros and in Burgundy the sky is the limit thanks to billionaire bucks sloshing into the region from around the globe. 

Money certainly isn’t everything though! There is also love and death, hope and fear, plus all the beauty and banality of everyday life - no, let’s call it beauty-banality, because which face it shows you depends upon how you feel, how you see it, hear it, smell it and taste it, how you touch it and it touches you. All this is in the Domaine Anita  Moulin-à-Vent Coeur de Vigneronne 2023, one of the most astonishing Beaujolais and one of the most amazing wines of any kind I ever encountered. 

Some of you will know that I also tasted it one year ago (in March 2025) when working for James Suckling and wrote something different. That’s because the wine presented itself.Iamnot trying to have a different opinion, or trying to have the same opinion. No, I am only trying to record what I experienced. That is the entire intention of this series, of this website and my life’s work. I don’t expect you to agree with me or disagree with me. However, I am always delighted when someone has astrong reaction to a wine and expresses it openly and honestly. Try some of these wines, particularly if you have little or no experience of them. Maybe you’ll be amazed!

67 tastings notes, one with 100, one with 99 and three with 98

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2024 REDS

Cave du Château de Chénas  Moulin-à-Vent  Coeur de Granit  2024 – 12.5% / A light-bodied, fresh and pretty wine with bright cranberry and redcurrant fruit. Very crisp, with slightly rustic tannins at the finish. 88 (SP)

Château Bonnet  Moulin-à-Vent Le Petit Brennay  2024 – 13.5% / With its generous fruits rouge character and well-integrated, lively acidity this is appealing, but also has some structure. Quite crisp finish that a bit more time in the bottle should further smooth. 90 (SP)

Château Bonnet  Moulin-à-Vent Les Roucheaux  Vin de Garde  2024 – 13.5% / A well-structured wine for 2024 with ample velvet tannins and a mineral acidity plus a complex spiciness that well complements the cool, well-proportioned body. Not nearly as firm at the finish as Vin de Garde suggests, in fact you could drink it now. 93 (SP)

Château des Jacques  Moulin-à-Vent  2024 – 13% / Subtle red fruit aromas and some rooty depth, plus a note of liquorice. With aeration a whole range of red floral. The elegant tannin structure behind this is even more impressive and there is a delicate touch of savoury at the finish. Lovely balance right the way through. A cuvée of the 8 vineyard sites of this producer. 93 (SP)

Château des Jacques  Moulin-à-Vent Clos du Grand Carquelin  2024 – 13% / Very sleek, cool and stony with an astonishing silkiness for a wine from with this flavour profile. Delicate and complex redcurrant, cherry violet aromas and just a whisker of oak. Long, super-precise finish. From a 5.5 hectare plot close to the windmill which gives the appellation its name. Mostly from 70 year old wines. Matured almost entirely in oak. 95 (SP)

Château des Jacques  Moulin-à-Vent Clos de Rochegrès  2024 – 13% / You can taste how these grapes ripened late, and finally achieved a special ripeness with a wealth delicate spicy aromas. Very sophisticated tannins and a super-elegant acidity. Terrific concentration and subtlety at the finish. From at 400 meter altitude site with very poor granitic soil. 96 (SP)

Château des Jacques  Moulin-à-Vent Le Moulin  2024 – 13% / As sleek and focused as it is concentrated, this is an extraordinarily expressive, the fine grained tannins, intense stony minerality and elegant acidity perfectly integrated. Very striking aromas of graphite and violets. First produced as a single-vineyard wine in 2018, this comes from 100 year old vines immediately below the windmill of Moulin-à-Vent. 97 (SP)

Pierre-Marie Chermette  Moulin-à-Vent Les Trois Roches  2024 – 13% / This well-structured and focused wine needs some more time in the bottle to open up, but is an excellent expression of the cool, high-altitude side of this appellation. Very long, slightly austere, stony finish. 93 (SP) 

Domaine Anita  Moulin-à-Vent  Reine de Nuit  2024 – 13.5% / Undemonstratively beautiful, this has an extraordinary velvety texture and a deep well of fruits rouge aromas. Very sensual creamy texture that’s not a jot too much, the very fine tannins keeping this dry and giving it fabulous elegance at the finish. From vines in the Aux Caves vineyard site around the winery. Matured entirely in used Burgundian barrels. 96 (SP)

Domaine Anita  Moulin-à-Vent Les Caves  Tres Vieile Vigne  2024 – 13.5% / I never tasted a red wine that was more mineral than this! However, first you have to image being enveloped by a perfect red rose, because that’s the bouquet. The gigantic concentration and mineral energy literally knocked me sideways, and it’s now hard to find some words because the finish seems to be endlessly caressing. Only 25% matured in barrel. 97 (SP) 

Domaine Anita  Moulin-à-Vent  Coeur de Vigneronne  2024 – 13.5% / The overwhelming bouquet is like an essence of fruits rouge, beetroot and pomegranate. It’s not only the extraordinary concentration that makes this stand out, rather also the seductive texture and incredibly deep structure behind this. And then, when you think you understand it all, you set out on a new journey that takes you through fascinating and undiscovered territory. From vines in the Aux Caves site around the winery. Matured entirely in used Burgundian barrels. 98 (SP)   

Domaine Anita  Moulin-à-Vent La Rochelle  2024 – 13.5% / Welcome to the dark heart of Moulin-à-Vent! A giant of power and concentration that makes a huge statement and has a stature extremely rare in this vintage. Notes of clove, almond and liquorice develop, but you could write a much, much longer list of adjectives. What an amazing tension between the huge fine tannins, black fruit aromas and racy minerality. Matured entirely in used Burgundian barrels. 98 (SP) 

Domaine de Bel-Air (Jean-Marc Lafont)  Moulin-à-Vent Les Burdelines  2024 – 13.5% / A really impressive Moulin-à-Vent for the vintage with floral, black fruit, liquorice and beetroot aromas. Good concentration and a serious tannin structure give this deep foundations. Still very young, but already exciting, this will surely gain with several years more bottle age. Very long, crisp and mineral finish. 94 (SP)  

Domaine Bertrand  Moulin-à-Vent Les Petits Bois  2024 – 12% / Considering how light this wine is (for an appellation who’s reputation is built on generosity) there’s surprising substance and some healthy tannins on the barely medium-bodied palate. Crisp blood orange and cranberry fruit, but slightly tart finish. 89 (SP) 

Domaine du Clos du Fief (Michel et Sylvain Tête)   Moulin-à-Vent Les Deschanes  2024 – 13.5% / What an enveloping bouquet of black cherry, liquorice and dried sage! Ripe and creamy, yet cool and super-elegant, this is a Moulin-à-Vent masterpiece! Very long, pure and polished finish! 95 (SP) 

Domaine de Colette  Moulin-à-Vent Le Mont  2024 – 13% / What a super combination of energy, ripeness and mineral freshness! Excellent depth of sour cherry, violet and liquorice character is wrapped around a core of restrained tannins. 94 (SP)    

Domaine Mee Godard  Moulin-à-Vent  2024 – 12.5% / With its aromas of fennel, tarragon and wild red berries this is a unique expression of the appellation. And the serious tannin structure is also a striking contrast to the fleshy richness of many wines from here. But there’s easily enough red berry fruit to carry this daring style. Excellent aging potential. Only 1200 bottles produced. 94 (SP) 

Domaine des Maisons Neuves (Maison Jambon)  Moulin-à-Vent “Les Bois Combes” Haute Couture  2024 – 13% / I really like the way this wine combines “sweet” berry fruit, silky tannins and flinty freshness. Quite some depth and length for a 2024! 93 (SP) 

Domaine Mont Bessay  Moulin-à-Vent Le Vieux Bourg  2024 – 13% / Serious tension between the green peppercorn and liquorice character, and the black fruit aromas. Structured yet elegant with a long cool and mineral finish. Excellent aging potential. 94 (SP) 

Domaine des Fonds  Moulin-à-Vent  2024 – 13% / A cool and crisp wine with modest substance for the appellation with sour cherry and tart strawberry fruit. A little edgy at the finish, but on a warm day this will refresh. 89 (SP) 

Domaine de Forétal  Moulin-à-Vent  2024 – 13.5% / This is very black cherry and wild blackberry has slightly sappy tannins backing up all the fruit. Quite crisp acidity, but the wine has the substance to carry it. 90 (SP)  

Domaine de la Presle  Moulin-à-Vent Au Michelon  2024 – 12% / Alongside the fresh black cherry aroma here there’s also notes of dried herbs, most notably thyme and rosemary, also a touch of clove. More character and length than most 2024 wines at this modest alcohol level. 91 (SP) 

Domaine de la Rochelle (Domaines Loron)  Moulin-à-Vent  2024 – 13% / A serious Moulin-à-Vent for this challenging vintage with excellent depth of wet earth, dried herb and clove flavours that are underlined by discreet red berry fruit character. Cool, but very long finish. Still needs some time in bottle to reach its best harmony. 92 (SP) 

Domaine de Vernus  Moulin-à-Vent Les Verillats  2024 – 14% / Complex and complete, this is a very serious Moulin-à-Vent for the vintage. Fleshy and fresh, with a serious tannin structure that may even be too much for some. Quite some power at the long, driving finish. Matured entirely in used Burgundian barrels. 95 (SP) 

Georges Dubeouf  Moulin-à-Vent Au Michelon  2024 – 13% / This excellent expression of the appellation is brimming with black fruit aromas (also black raspberry) and the melt-in-the-mouth tannins on the mid-palate beautifully underline that. Slightly drier at the finish, but this accentuates the impression of mineral freshness. Very long and precise finish! 94 (SP) 

Georges Dubeouf  Moulin-à-Vent Au Mont  2024 – 14% / A big meaty wine for Beaujolais with a touch of vanilla oak alongside the deep black fruit aromas. Mouthfilling in a way that few 2024s are (but a lot of 2023s were) this has a stunning velvety richness and a joyful freshness at the finish. With aeration develops soy sauce complexity. 95 (SP) 

Michel Guignier  Moulin-à-Vent  2024 – 13% / Deep blue fruit aromas and velvety tannins fill out the generous body of this impressively ripe wine for the 2024 vintage. Liquorice and clove character develops with aeration. From vines growing on pink granite. Matured for 5 months in used oak casks.  94 (SP) 

Yohan Lardy  Moulin-à-Vent Les Michelons  2024 – 13% / Such a dynamic expression of this appellation that’s famed for roundness. The thread of herbal freshness that’s woven into this densely fruity (think of the forest berries and totally ripe cherries) wine creates an electric tension with the mineral acidity and restrained tannins. Very long, pristine finish. 95 (SP) 

Yohan Lardy  Moulin-à-Vent Vieilles Vignes de 1903  2024 – 13% / Gigantic concentration of forest aromas – berries, dry leaves and wet soil – is married to a dangerously mineral freshness, making this a truly extraordinary wine regardless of the context!  Enormous intensity and vitality at the seemingly endless finish. 98 (SP) 

D. Piron  Moulin-à-Vent  2024 – 12.5% / This has the generosity and suave texture I associate with this appellation. Full blueberry and ripe strawberry fruit is wrapped around a beautifully crafted tannins structure that makes the finish glide over your palate. 93 (SP)  

Trenel  Moulin-à-Vent  2024 – 13% / Quite a firm and dry style, but with enough fruit and wet earth character to make it work. Slightly austere in spite of the good substance this is no charmer. Already quite mature. 90 (SP) 

Trenel  Moulin-à-Vent Lieu-dit “Les Thorins”  2024 – 12.5% / This well-structured Moulin-à-Vent is self-confidently dry with healthy tannisn and moderate acidity for the vintage. Impressive length at the emphatically dry finish. 92 (SP) 

Vignobles Victoire d’Affaux  Mouline-à-Vent Clos des Greneriers  2024 – 12.5% / A restrained wine that starts with discreet raspberry and strawberry fruit, then continues to be understated on the sleek palate. Very good length at the self-confidently dry finish. Needs some more time in the bottle! 90 (SP) 

Vignobles Victoire d’Affaux  Mouline-à-Vent Les Perrelles  2024 – 12.5% / The ample fine tannins give this a wonderfully elegance on the restrained palate. Excellent depth of bright red fruits are married to a gentle warmth on the mid-palate, then comes the cool and stony finish. 93 (SP)   

2023 REDS

Cave du Château de Chénas  Moulin-à-Vent  Coeur de Granit  2023 – 14% / It would be hard not to like the succulently ripe cherry fruit of this silky wine, and the balance is very good too thanks to the fine tannins and animating freshness. It’s just not very complex. 92 (SP) 

Cave du Château de Chénas  Moulin-à-Vent Terre de Thé  Exception 2023 – 13.5% / Concentrated and fragrant with understated power and mineral freshness, this is a serious Moulin-à-Vent that’s still very young. I love the way the velvet tannins build at the long crescendo finale. 93 (SP) 

Château les Bachelards  Moulin-à-Vent  2023 – 14% / A strikingly original wine for this appellation. Ripe and dark yet fresh, the concentrated fine tannins wrapped in balsamic richness. Very long finish with terrific of drive, but not a jot loud. 95 (SP) 

Domaine Anita  Moulin-à-Vent  Reine de Nuit  2023 – 14% / If you still imagine that Beaujolais is light and the wines of the Rhône are powerful, then here is proof that this characterisation is bullshit. Take a journey to the dark heart of the blackberry and let yourself sink into this giant of bitter chocolate tannins. Overwhelming finish that etches itself into your memory. Matured entirely in used Burgundian barrels. 97 (SP) 

Domaine Anita  Moulin-à-Vent Coeur de Vigneronne 2023 – 14.5% / Anyone who thinks that Beaujolais isn’t capable of greatness must experience this essence of the Gamay grape that’s dangerously seductive and mind-expandingly fresh and refined. Perfect balance in spite of the enormous tannin structure. Staggering that’s unbelievably long and totally seamless. Matured entirely in used Burgundian barrels. 100 (SP) 

Domaine Anita  Moulin-à-Vent La Rochelle 2023 – 14.5% / This washes over you in one great wave. The tension between the herbal freshness and dense black fruits is no less extraordinary, than that between the enormous depth of fine tannins and the racy minerality. Then comes the giant finale that’s emphatically dry. Matured entirely in used Burgundian barrels. 99 (SP) 

Domaine de Bel-Air (Jean-Marc Lafont)  Moulin-à-Vent Les Burdelines  2023 – 13.5% / Full, maturing red fruits with a touch of cassis this has tannins than the first impression suggested, but they’re fine grained. The warm site with deep, weathered granite soil has given this generosity and mid-palate flesh. Lacks a bit of tension at the finish for greatness. 92 (SP) 

Domaine de Boischampt  Moulin-à-Vent  2023 – 12.5% / Surprisingly light and refreshing for this appellation that’s so often associated with power. Pretty red berry fruit, but also some moderately dry tannins behind this and quite a long, harmonious finish. 90 (SP) 

Domaine Paul Janin  Moulin-à-Vent  Empreinte  2023 – 13.5% / This may not be super-complex, but the generosity of the sour cherry and black raspberry fruit, plus the neatness with which the silky tannins underline this creates an extremely satisfying harmony. A cuvée from vineyards with granitic soil. 93  (SP) 

Domaine Paul Janin  Moulin-à-Vent  Vignes de Trémblay  2023 – 14% / This beautiful wine makes me think of sunlight falling through red stained glass, and there’s a richness on the generous palate that reminds me of milk chocolate. Very long, complete finish in which the fine-grained tannins and bright acidity show their hand.  A cuvée from vineyards with granitic soil. 95 (SP) 

Domaine Paul Janin  Moulin-à-Vent  Héritage  2023 – 14% /  Just lean back, relax and marvel at the way this great Moulin-à-Vent eefortlessly marries richness, concentration and restrained power to create a fabulously harmonious whole. Very long silky finish with astonishing elegance. A cuvée from this producer’s oldest vineyards, all on granitic soil. Matured for 20 months in concrete tanks. 96 (SP) 

Domaine Mont Bessay  Moulin-à-Vent Le Vieux Bourg  2023 – 14% / A dark and smoky beauty with great restrained power and a vitality that keeps this bright. Dense cherry stone character and a wealth of fine tannins that give the finish positive weight without heat. Long, graceful finish. 95 (SP) 

Domaine des Nugues  Moulin-à-Vent  2023 – 13.5% / Full blueberry and violet aromas. Quite some power and weight with some moderately dry at the core, plus a lively acidity for the vintage. Quite a bold dry finish with some minerality. 91 (SP) 

Domaine de la Rochelle (Domaines Loron)  Moulin-à-Vent  2023 – 13% / Suave and sensual, this glides over the palate. Quite a delicate wine for this appellation, but there’s also very good depth and the finish has more than enough depth. 93 (SP) 

Domaine Richard Rottiers  Moulin-à-Vent  2023 – 12.5% /  The restrained red berry and candied orange aromas pull you into this well-structured Moulin-à-Vent. Self-confidently tannic, this needs some time in the bottle to reach its best drinking harmony, but has some real power at the finish. From vines between 40 and 80 years of age and matured in oak casks. 93 (SP) 

Domaine Richard Rottiers  Moulin-à-Vent Les Thorins  2023 – 12% / Generous powdery tannins fill out and warm the rather sleek palate. Excellent depth of sour cherry and dried lemon peel character, the tannins building at the long, compact finish. Needs time! 94 (SP) 

Domaine Richard Rottiers  Moulin-à-Vent Champ de Cour 2023 – 12% /  This concentrated and focused wine has an intense raw meat character (think pigeon!), but also suave tannins that have been expertly crafted. The very long, sophisticated finish completes the utterly French whole! From 70 year old vines, this wine was matured for a full year in oak casks. 96 (SP) 

Domaine Richard Rottiers  Moulin-à-Vent Dernier Souffle  2023 – 12.5% / Emphatically dry, but with great sour cherry fruit, mineral acidity and rooty complexity, this is a serious wine. Relatively sleek, but with good warmth and abundant savoury character at the long, polished finish.  Matured for 6 months in oak casks. 94 (SP) 

Domaine Richard Rottiers  Moulin-à-Vent Montperay  2023 – 12.5% /  Very silky indeed with impressive concentration for a red wine with just 12.5% alcohol! A sleek wine that was made with great intelligence and sensitivity, this demands that you commune with it for some hours! From 60 year old vines. 95 (SP) 

Domaine Zephyr  Moulin-à-Vent Champ de Cour  Auxesia  2023 – 13.5% / With its intense liquorice, savoury and plum skin flavours this is a striking expression of the appellation. Imposing tannins and the dark character remind me of the deep bass notes of a cathedral organ! 92 (SP) 

Laura Lardy  Moulin-à-Vent “Le Mont”  2023 – 13% / This sophisticated wine is very cool and crisp for the 2023 vintage. Racy acidity and a self-confidently stony austerity on the sleek body. 92 (SP) 

Le Nid  Moulin-à-Vent  Tradition  2023 – 14% / A concentrated and seriously structured Moulin-à-Vent tastes like a single-vineyard wine. Great damson plum fruit. Quite some power is wrapped in a wonderful creamy richness. Imposing, finish, but everything fits so well. 95 (SP) 

Le Nid  Moulin-à-Vent Rochegres  2023  – 14% / Inspite of the considerable concentration, depth and body, this is quite a firm, dry wine. However, there’s a terrific dried bay leaf, thyme and stony complexity plus a wonderful tension at the super-elegant finish. Needs some time to open up, but excellent aging potential. 96 (SP) 

Le Nid  Moulin-à-Vent La Rochelle  2023 – 14% / Fascinating nose of liquorice and elderberry, with touches of juniper and wild herbs. Enormous concentration yet still cool and focused. Then a wave of velvety tannins pour over you at the finish. Great aging potential! 96 (SP) 

Le Nid  Moulin-à-Vent  Champ de Cour  2023 – 14% / Rich, concentrated and fleshy, but beautifully balanced, this is a stunning expression of this excellent site. And there’s a lovely savoury subtlety at the very fine finish. Still really young! 95  (SP)  

Du Vin à l’Ame  Moulin-à-Vent Lieu-dit Rochenoire  Ensemble C’est tout  2023 – 13% / A totally original expression of Moulin-à-Vent, this is concentrated yet delicate with deep, fine-grained tannins supporting the subtle red berry fruit. Then comes a wave of soy sauce and liquorice complexity at the finish. This biodynamic / natural wine was matured for 10 months in amphoras, before being bottled unfiltered. 94  (SP) 

Du Vin à l’Ame  Moulin-à-Vent Lieu-dit Rochenoire  Al-Kimiya  2023 – 13.5% /  The best natural Beaujolais I ever tasted!  In spite of the power and concentration this remains poised and delicate. I love the purity of black cherry and blueberry aromas! Super long finish in which the fruit, savoury and balsamic flavours are exactly matched. This biodynamic / natural wine was matured for 10 months in amphoras, before being bottled unfiltered. 95 (SP) 

2022 REDS

Domaine Paul Janin  Moulin-à-Vent Les Greneriers   2022 – 13.5% / This stunning 2022 has the ripest blackberry and mulberry aromas plus a hint of bitter chocolate. Great freshness for the hot and dry vintage. Great vitality at the extremely long, stony finish. The only bottling from this producer with a lieu-dit / single-vineyard designation. 96 (SP) 

Domaine Zephyr  Moulin-à-Vent Champ de Cour  2022 – 13% / This combines impressive concentration, cocoa powder character and savoury complexity  with a cool freshness that has nothing to do with acidity. Long, firmly structured finish. Excellent aging potential. 94 (SP)  

2020 REDS

Château des Moriers  Moulin-à-Vent  Vieilles Vignes  2020 – 12.5% / A big and densely-structured wine for the appellation that has great presence and stature, but is only just beginning to open up. Deep bass notes and subtle earthy complexity behind the subtle sour cherry and savoury aromas. Very long, velvety finish. 95 (SP) 

Domaine des Nugues  Moulin-à-Vent Les Burdelines  2020 – 14.5% / Quite some black chocolate, but this is anything other than opulent or sweet. Plenty of dark blackberry and damson plum fruit with discreet oak that’s well integrated. Bold tannin structure at the finish, but this is what’s going to keep this wine rocking for a long time. Bottled in June 2023. 93 (SP) 

2019 REDS

Château des Moriers  Moulin-à-Vent  Vieilles Vignes  2019 – 12.5% / I love the dark nose of liquorice, forest berries and old balsamic vinegar. Developing beautifully this is pure velvet with a delicate thread of sweetness running through it. The way the complex flavours and superb tannins are interwoven at extremely longand velvety finish leaves me speechless. Enormous aging potential. 97 (SP) 

2016 REDS

Château des Moriers  Moulin-à-Vent  Vieilles Vignes  2016 – 12.5% / Quite some textural richness, but also cool with restrained tannins that stay in the background until you reach the finale. I love the interplay of delicate red cherry fruit, wild thyme and rosemary aromas. 93 (SP)