Color / Grapes
Red/Gamay
Region
Beaujolais
Appellation
Moulin-à-Vent "Le Moulin"
Features
The attention paid to individual parcels has always been written into the DNA of the Château des Jacques. From the era of Monsieur Rousseau (who owned the domain in the 1920s and bought the Rochegrès parcel) right up to the present time (via an interim period when it was owned by the Thorin family), the focus has been on terroir. Each lieu-dit is harvested, vinified and matured separately, allowing us to reflect the terroir with great precision. This little island of vines, around 20 acres in size, is located in the shadow of the appellation's namesake windmill, and planted on an outcrop of bedrock exposed to the east - an ideal situation when it comes to addressing the challenges of climate change. Planted after the war, these old bush vine Gamays are among the oldest owned by the Château des Jacques. Their roots dig deep into relatively generous soils that are rich in quartz, lending the wines great richness and energy. Natural grass growing is controlled by tractor in the period between spring and harvest to create an aerated living soil. In line with our philosophy of organic viticulture.
Vinification
Picked and sorted by hand, then mostly de-stemmed, the grapes macerate slowly over the course of three or four weeks. Both pigeage and pumping over take place at different stages of the fermentation according to the vintage profile.
Winemaking and bottling
The wines are aged in our historic cellar for 10 months, a period spent in oak barrels, both old and new. The oak used to make the barrels comes from the forests of Alliers, Limousin and Nivernais.
Tasting / Food pairing
This wine is opulent and generous, but with a very fresh mouthfeel. Both complex and powerful, it will match beautifully a menu of roasted Mediterranean vegetables, roasted or slow cooked meat with mushrooms and chestnut stuffing, or pronounced cheeses.
Preservation
Le Moulin needs three or five years to reach its harmony, and can then age comfortably for several decades.
Vintage
"At last a good-freezing winter that will give a good rest to our vines" were we thinking in January 2024 as snow was covering the vines. Hallas, mild temperatures appeared right at the beginning of February, getting the vegetative cycle started very early on. First buds were out by the end of March. April was sunny, May saw temperatures breaking all records (35°!) and water was scarce. Flowers spread their scents at the end of May. Thankfully, at last, June brought a few rains and thunderstorms helping grapes to develop. But these days, the price to pay for a bit of water is high. On the 24th and 25th of June some plots of Corcelette in Morgon, and Fleurie, was hit by hail. July came with incredibly high temperatures and sunshine, and, for the first time ever, we have seen grapes changing colours as early as the first week of July. August was as dry and hot, and not a cloud on the horizon. We started the harvest on Grand Carquelin plot in Moulin-à-Vent on the 19th of August. Like 2020, the vintage 2022 that we are now tasting, shows incredibly no signs of the turmoil and heat-waves of the year, and together with the dense colour and intensity, these wines are still fresh and elegant.