Château des Jacques Moulin-à-Vent “Le Moulin” 2020
$60.00 USD
*** SPECIAL ORDER ITEM ***
Please allow extra time for this limited-quantity wine to be hand-picked and packed from our secure, temperature-controlled cellar.
Description
How To Say It
Vino Joe Says...
Description
Le Moulin is a tiny sub-sector of a vineyard called La Roche. The grapes are usually part of the La Roche bottling but occasionally produced as a stand-alone wine in tiny quantities, such as in 2020. The name derives from its proximity to the windmill. This vintage is a Wine365 exclusive.
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.
How To Say It
Pronounced SHAH-toe duh ZHOCK moo-LAHN ah VAHN luuh moo-LAHN
Vino Joe Says...
People forget — or even dismiss — that the Beaujolais region is technically in the most southern part of Burgundy, and so is blessed with the same climate and soil diversity. Chateau des Jacques makes some of the most sought-after and collectible wines of the region, some of which can gracefully age for 40+ years. This cru Beaujolais is an amazing value and an ideal introduction to a truly magical winery. While made from Gamay, its depth, structure, intensity, and ageability stand up to — and in some cases surpass — its Pinot Noir-dominated cousins from the north. Buy at least 12 bottles and enjoy over the next decade-plus. NOTE: this is a Wine365 exclusive — you will have a challenging time finding it anywhere else.
About the wine
REGION: France | Burgundy | Beaujolais
GRAPES: 100% Gamay
PH: n/a
ACIDITY:n/a
ABV: n/a
AGING: 10 months in a mix of old and new Alliers, Limousin, and Nivernais oak barrels
GRAPES: 100% Gamay
PH: n/a
ACIDITY:n/a
ABV: n/a
AGING: 10 months in a mix of old and new Alliers, Limousin, and Nivernais oak barrels
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.
Roasted Mediterranean vegetables, roasted or slow cooked meat with mushrooms and chestnut stuffing, or pronounced cheeses.
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. The wines are aged in Château des Jacques’ 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.
Le Moulin needs three or five years to reach its harmony, and can then age comfortably for several decades.
Winter 2020 is the warmest since the beginning of the 20th century, as a result, while the world enters into lockdown in March, the vine is awakening early. The following spring is equally warm until a cooler phase at the end of May as vine flowers are blooming. The weather got cooler in June with a few rains giving the vines a welcomed rest. Veraison takes place mid-July, rains disappear and temperatures are soaring to an overwhelming heat and an exceptional sunlight. Initially planned for the 24th f August the harvest started on the 21rst, breaking an all-time record for the domaine. For having put the whole planet on hold, 2020 will make history, for Château des Jacques it will be remembered for its extraordinary character. Thanks however to the estate’s viticulture methods, and a careful vinification, 2020 is only theoretically a hot vintage, as in the wines nothing seems to show these extreme weather events: the wines’ appearance are bright and beautiful, the palate mouth filling and fruity, and tannins are structured but silky.
What The Critics Say...
Another highpoint in this year’s range is the 2020 Moulin-à-Vent Le Moulin, a deep, concentrated wine evocative of cherries, blackberries, licorice, sweet spices and loamy soil. Full-bodied, layered and rich, with a sweet core of fruit, lively acids and a long, penetrating finish, this old-vine micro cuvée will reward patience. 94+ Points
The 2020 vintage has turned out well at the Château des Jacques, delivering concentrated, lively wines that ably conceal above-average alcohol levels and which show nuances of site with precision. Cyril Chirouze and his team continue to use important percentages of concrete for maturation these days, so overt oak influence really is a thing of the past. In the vineyards, organic conversion was launched in 2021. Precision and purity are the watchwords, and everything reviewed here comes recommended. — William Kelley, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate
Château des Jacques is,
Historic and Prestigious Estate
The historic Château des Jacques estate, located in the village of Romanèche-Thorins in the Moulin-à-Vent appellation, is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious estate in Beaujolais. It was purchased by Louis Jadot in 1996, at which time Maison Louis Jadot became the first Burgundy house to own a major Beaujolais vineyard.
The Windmill
Moulin-a-Vent, or Windmill in French, is arguably the most noteworthy of the ten Beaujolais crus, located in the very north of the Beaujolais region. The vineyards of Moulin-a-Vent lie on the south- and southeast-facing slopes of the Beaujolais hills, where they are protected from harsh continental weather systems from the northwest. Instead, the region’s high sunlight hours and gentle cooling influences from the Mediterranean Sea in the south help to maximize the ripening period, leading to grapes with a good balance of flavor and acidity. The most distinctive and desirable feature of the terroir here comes from the manganese, a mineral that retards growth and results in a smaller yield of highly concentrated grapes with beautiful red hue are produced. This leads to deeper, more intensely flavored wines than are produced in other parts of Beaujolais.
