2011 Moulin a Vent Couvent des Thorins

Abundant fresh dark berry juiciness dominates the tank- and foudre-raised, 25,000 bottles’ worth of Chateau du Moulin-a-Vent 2011 Moulin-a-Vent Couvent des Thorins, while charred red meat, piquant cherry pit, and hints of violet add to the finishing savor of a texturally polished and tender performance. This will, as intended, prove delightful near-term though I suspect also through at least 2016. (One bottle I tasted was slightly reduced though still expressive, while my tasting note on the present occasion relies more on the second bottle I sampled alongside.) Jean-Jacques Parinet’s team (see my extended introduction in Issue 196 for more on them) continues their ambitious revival of this venerable estate as well as the consolidation of its former vineyard surface. The Chateau now farms a total of 92 acres following acquisition of the formerly (and briefly) Girardin-owned Tour du Bief property, the wines from which will be issued under a separate label that I was not yet able to see, so for now I am reporting on them as part of and under the name of Chateau du Moulin-a-Vent. (For more about the effects of this new ownership, see my notes under “Tour du Bief” in this issue on the wine that Girardin continues to make from a portion of his former holdings.) Around half of the Chateau du Moulin-a-Vent vineyards are now farmed under an organic regimen, which will expand to soon encompass its entirety; and about half the fruit is sold off in bulk so as to retain only the best for estate production, a ratio that may or may not change much depending on how the vines and soils respond to their relatively new owner and the market responds to his wines. I have already expressed in Issue 196 my reservations about the way the new-ish 350- and (for Champ de Cour 50% new) 228-liter barrels have influenced some of these wines. I worry lest the frequent flattery directed toward them as “Burgundy-like” will over-influence the domaine’s approach in the cellar and handicap its ability to reveal the unique distinction of Gamay on great granite soils. I certainly have no reservations, though, about the practice of relatively late-bottling and of late-release for wines intended to be cellared, and the 2011s are only now – in spring, 2013 – poised to enter the market. By any standards, the Chateau du Moulin-a-Vent wines are already impressive. (For notes on the sites they single-out for bottling, consult my notes on the 2010s both in Issue 196 and below.) There is still no U.S. importer for this estate, though plans are in the offing.