Maison L'Envoye Moulin-a-Vent 2013
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2013 Maison L'Envoyé Moulin-à-Vent Terre de Thé is not just any ol' Beaujolais, and it is more interesting than most other cru Beaujolais. The wine impresses me with its uncommon richness and excellent balance. Its black fruit and dried herbs flavors deliver a serious side of the Gamay grape. (Tasted: March 3, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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Driven by a tireless hunt for elusive sites where Pinot Noir shines, Maison L'Envoyé traverses the globe with the intention of presenting the acme of regionality and winemaking styles. Originating in Burgundy, they pursued gilded terroir to craft this region's wine trinity: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Gamay Noir. Yet from this tenor of focus and commitment a global fellowship emerged, with terroir-driven Pinot Noir as the linchpin. Now, with winemaking footprints in Burgundy, Willamette Valley, Tasmania and Central Otago, Maison L'Envoyé champions many unsung growers who have farmed their vineyards for decades and generations, some mere feet away from more illustriously cited neighbors. This project has been a standout since its debut in 2011 including Wine & Spirits naming Maison L'Envoyé a 'Winery To Watch' in 2015.
Delightfully playful, but also capable of impressive gravitas, Gamay is responsible for juicy, berry-packed wines. From Beaujolais, Gamay generally has three classes: Beaujolais Nouveau, a decidedly young, fruit-driven wine, Beaujolais Villages and Cru Beaujolais. The Villages and Crus are highly ranked grape growing communes whose wines are capable of improving with age whereas Nouveau, released two months after harvest, is intended for immediate consumption. Somm Secret—The ten different Crus have their own distinct personalities—Fleurie is delicate and floral, Côte de Brouilly is concentrated and elegant and Morgon is structured and age-worthy.
The bucolic region often identified as the southern part of Burgundy, Beaujolais actually doesn’t have a whole lot in common with the rest of the region in terms of climate, soil types and grape varieties. Beaujolais achieves its own identity with variations on style of one grape, Gamay.
Gamay was actually grown throughout all of Burgundy until 1395 when the Duke of Burgundy banished it south, making room for Pinot Noir to inhabit all of the “superior” hillsides of Burgundy proper. This was good news for Gamay as it produces a much better wine in the granitic soils of Beaujolais, compared with the limestone escarpments of the Côte d’Or.
Four styles of Beaujolais wines exist. The simplest, and one that has regrettably given the region a subpar reputation, is Beaujolais Nouveau. This is the Beaujolais wine that is made using carbonic maceration (a quick fermentation that results in sweet aromas) and is released on the third Thursday of November in the same year as harvest. It's meant to drink young and is flirty, fruity and fun. The rest of Beaujolais is where the serious wines are found. Aside from the wines simply labelled, Beaujolais, there are the Beaujolais-Villages wines, which must come from the hilly northern part of the region, and offer reasonable values with some gems among them. The superior sections are the cru vineyards coming from ten distinct communes: St-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly. Any cru Beajolais will have its commune name prominent on the label.