SAINT-AMOUR: Love, Sex & Saints

Beaujolais Series 8/14

By Stuart Pigott – last revision: 14.04.26

Vineyard Area: 301 hectares (2024)

Proportion of Total Production: 3% (2024)

Appellation Established: 1946

PART ONE: Focused Gazes, Emotional Business,and…

Saint-Amour is the Beaujolais appellation with the highest bulk wine price: the equivalent of 3.38 Euros per 75cl bottle compared with 1.88 Euros for basic Beaujolais in 2024. Given it’s relative invisibility on wine lists, particularly compared to Fleurie, Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent, I asked several people in the region why? A local winemaker talked about the, “St. Valentine Day effect, the St. Valentine’s Day style wines.” How could I have been so stupid?

I knew exactly what he meant having struggled to book tables for 4-6 people on the 14^th February in various parts of the Western World. On the evening of 14^th February many restaurants ONLY have tables for two, which are largely occupied by couples staring into each other’s eyes either with conviction or with a sense of obligation. This extreme focus means the wine MUST slip down easily, and be fruity without being loud, so as not to distract from the emotional business in hand, and the sexual possibilities that it's successful completion may open up.

For those who don’t want to push the boat out for Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses the wine shouldn’t be too cheap, or that might be insulting to the other person at the table. That bulk price says how many couples end up drinking Saint-Amour, an effect that’s strongest in France where 75% of the appellations wine production is sold. Often it has the name and label of a Burgundian negociant on the bottle, in whose range the price looks low. Les Amoureusses can be a very sexy wine, but it starts around 400 Euros a bottle on the shelf and correspoindingly more in restaurants…OUCH!

PART TWO: And the Wine in the Bottle?

Although consumption is arguably the most important context for any wine, I can see why some readers may be disappointed I didn't start with the taste of the wine, so let’s turn straight in the that direction. I begin with what Grégory Barbet of Domaine de La Pirouette, one of the leading producers of Saint-Amour said to me. “The village of Saint-Amour Bellevue sits on the top of a volcanic hill that’s just over 300 meters altitude, and those granite soils we have are greatly decomposed.” There’s also an abundance of deep and ancient alluvial deposits on the lowest lying ground, around 250 meters above sea. “So there are all these rich soils that retain water like a sponge.” And all that pushes the better wines in a rich direction.

Yes, the Valentine’s Day style wines are generally medium-bodied and soft, but the serious Saint-Amour wines are quite mouthfilling, even if they rarely taste heavy in spite of 14% plus alcohol in warm years. Yes, they often have rich fruit and quite rich texture, plus some spice. The wines of Domaine de La Pirouette and Château des Bachelards fall into this category. If you want something fresher and brighter, then go for the extremely reliable Domaine du Clos du Fief (Michel et Sylvain Tète) or the new Domaine Mont Bessay. Between these extremes lie Pierre Marie Chermette and the wine from Georges Dubouef's lieux-dits series.

What do I miss in many Saint-Amours? A bit more tension and energy would do most of these wines a lot of good. And for vineyard locations where that might not be possible, then balance should be spot-on. As the tasting notes below make clear, some wines get much closer to this than others.

22 tasting notes, five with 94.

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PART THREE:  The Virtue of Sensuality

2024 REDS

Victoire d’Affaux  Saint-Amour  Cuvée Athénais  2024 – 12.5% / With its aromas of ripe strawberry and violets plus the base of moderately dry tannins this is a solid example of the appellation, but it’s lacking a bit of elegance or playfulness. 88

Château Bonnet  Saint-Amour Côte de Besset  2024 – 13.5% / The freshness of this wine reflects the stony, high-altitude site that it originates from. The interplay of violet and wild strawberry aromas with wet-stone minerality gives it a lot of positive energy. Long, elegantly stony finish. 92

Pierre-Marie Chermette  Saint Amour Les Champs-Grillés  2024 – 13% / A serious and compact wine for the appellation with excellent power and plush tannins for Beaujolais! Very long structured and mineral finish with plenty of liquorice. Excellent aging potential. 94

Arnaud Combier  Saint-Amour  2024 – 13.5% / This has the richness, ample ripe tannins and full-bodied roundness of the vintage in a positive form. Not subtle, but quite meaty and structured. 91  

Domaine du Clos du Fief (Michel et Sylvain Tète)  Saint-Amour Les Capitans 2024 – 13% / This wine deftly marries the fleshiness of good Saint-Amour with fine-grained tannins and an elegant acidity. Some real fascination here! Long, refined finish with way more tension than the norm for this appellation. 94 

Domaine des Fonds  Saint-Amour  2024 – 13% / With its bright red fruit aromas – not just strawberry, but also watermelon – this is an attractive and fresh wine with a lively acidity. Surprising length. 89

Domaine Le Cotoyon  Saint-Amour  Vieilles Vignes  2024 – 13% / Excellent depth and structure for an appellation that often falls down on those things. Self-confident tannins that are well-matched to the generous body and abundant wild blackberry fruit. Quite some power at the finish. 93

Domaine du Moulin Berger  Saint-Amour La Gagére  2024 – 13.5% /  It’s hard not to like this lightly-structured and supple wine with its bright strawberry fruit, but it doesn’t have much depth or structure. 88

Domaine du Moulin Berger  Saint-Amour Les Pierres Cuvée Flora  2024 – 13.5% / With its effusive ripe red fruit aromas, a touch of mint and fullish velvety tannins this is quite a serious wine for the appellation. The crisp acidity is well integrated, but the finish is slightly drying. 89 

Domaine des Fonds  Saint-Amour Les Champs Grilles  2024 – 13% /  Full fruits rouge aromas, soft tannins and a certain generosity make it hard not to like this well-crafted wine. Good length and some minerality at the finish. 91

Domaine Mont Bessay  Saint-Amour Côte de Besset  2024 – 13% / Very cool with notes of liquorice, fennel and graphite married to quite a serious tannin structure. Candied lemon freshness at the stony, long finish.  From old vines at high altitude and easterly exposure on a mix of granite and sandstone soils. 94

Famille Dutraive  Saint-Amour Clos du Chapitre  2024 – 12% / At first this is pretty funky, even in the natural wine context! Then, as it aerates, aromas of blood orange, redcurrants and oats develop. After this the roundness on the front-palate comes as a surprise, and this, in turn, followed by the crisp finish. I’m sure this will improve with more time in the bottle. 90

Georges Duboeuf  Saint-Amour En Paradis  2024 – 13% / A serious expression of this underrated appellation with excellent substance and harmony, the ample black fruit flavours and smooth tannins exactly matched on the generous palate. Excellent blood orange freshness at the finish. 93    

Mommessin  Saint-Amour  Grandes Mises  2024 – 13% / An emphatically dry and well-structured wine for this appellation that’s so often about fruity charm and softness. Plenty of savoury and dried-herb character at the finish. 90  

2023 REDS

Château des Bachelards  Saint-Amour  2023 – 14% / Very savoury and slightly meaty, this has quite some power and weight, but a mellow and silky personality that makes it hard to resist. The ample supple tannins build at the long finish that exactly balances sweet and savoury elements. 94 

Domaine des Billards (Héritiers Loron)  Saint-Amour  2023 – 13.5% / A fleshy and rather complex expression of this terroir with plenty of red and black fruit aromas plus some delicate spice. Velvet tannins at the long finish. A cuvée of wines from vineyards with alluvial, volcanic diorite and clay-flint soils. 93

Domaine de La Pirolette  Saint-Amour  2023 – 14% / Ripe and juicy, but very balanced, this is an excellent introduction to this appellation. Brimming with black cherry, black raspberry and blueberry aromas with a delicate spiciness and a lovely creamy-powdery texture at the lingering finish. A cuvée from sites with soils ranging from clay to granitic sand and volcanic diorite. 92

2022 REDS

Domaine du Moulin Berger  Saint-Amour Fût de Chêne  2022 – 14.5% / The smoky and old balsamic vinegar aromas dominate this slightly stolid and now pretty mature wine that might well have been more appealing with less oak. Rather short finish. 88

Domaine des Pins  Saint-Amour  Tradition des Pins  2022 – 13.5% / More positive green and black peppercorn aromas than fruit, but there is some positive damson plum character. Generous supple tannins and pronounced spiciness on the well-rounded palate. Now at its best. 91

Domaine de La Pirolette  Saint-Amour  Le Carjot  2022 – 14.5% / Vibrant for this hot and dry vintage with refined Amarena cherry, then comes a very serious tannin structure, along with notes of licorice and wet earth. Huge finish, but the wine isn’t overdone. Still plenty of life ahead of it. From a hillside site with volcanic diorite soil. 94

Domaine de La Pirolette  Saint-Amour  La Poulette  2022 – 14.5% / Very rich and fleshy, this is a wide-screen wine for Saint-Amour with enough velvety tannins to keep the well-rounded palate on track. Deep black raspberry and Amarena cherry fruit covers the abundant alcohol and there’s no hint of warmth in spire of the wine’s imposing scale. 93  

La Rochelle (Héritiers Loron)  Saint-Amour  2022 – ??% / Ripe and powerful, but still lively and fresh this is liquid velvet. This bold Saint-Amour has quite some tannic power and a touch of liquorice at the imposing, moderately dry finish. 92