2014 Maison L'Envoye Cru Moulin-a-Vent Vielles Vignes 750 ml

Gamay on the Rise from a “Winery to Watch”

The land grab taking place in Burgundy is seeing the owners of Chambolle, Vosne-Romanée, and Gevrey-Chambertin look an hour south of their the blue-chip estates. The properties they’ve targeted can be found on the equally calcareous hillsides of villages like Moulin-à-Vent and Chiroubles — where the wine world’s Gamay renaissance has taken place.

It’s caught the notice of Eric Asimov, the wine critic whose columns in The New York Times remain required reading for the cognoscenti and unschooled alike. Asimov praises the Cru Beaujolais of the 2014 vintage, which, “we generally agreed, was a very good one, maybe even superb.”

Asimov and his panel of expert palates debated whether the wines they were tasting contained too much of “the sense of joy that seems inherent in good gamay” to be described as having “gravitas.”

Of the 2014s, Asimov wrote: “They can be enjoyed early and fresh, or they can be aged for five to 15 years, and sometimes longer. They are great, yet they are fun. So maybe we reject gravitas.”

That joie de vivre Asimov gravitated to permeates the deep, dark, terrifically ripe, fabulously mineral Gamays from the top villages of Beaujolais. It’s what Mark Tarlov, the co-founder of Evening Land, sought when he founded Maison L’Envoyé and placed his bets on the Beaujolais villages of Morgon, Fleurie, and Moulin-à-Vent. He found it, along with a slew of critical praise.

In the few short years since its founding in 2011, Maison L’Envoyé has quickly climbed the ladder of respectability among the elite producers of Cru Beaujolais, producing top-quality, elegant, powerful yet restrained red wines. In 2015, Wine & Spirits Magazine named Tarlov’s Maison L’Envoyé a “winery to watch,” citing its “top-flight fruit” in wines offered “at remarkably low prices.”

Maison L’Envoyé’s expressive, finessed reds, all from organic and biodynamically farmed vineyards, include a series of wines made from the aromatic Gamay Noir. It’s one of the region’s most unheralded red grapes — though reviews like Asimov’s are changing that. The Moulin-à-Vent comes from one of the most storied terroirs in the village, and delivers one of the most sapid, juicy expressions of the very best Gamay Noir we’ve tasted in some time.

Named for the iconic windmill towering over the vines, Moulin-à-Vent has long been considered one of the superlative age-worthy and powerful crus in the Beaujolais. Classic, deep manganese- and quartz-rich soils in this vineyard lend a hefty boost to this wine, which comes from a tea-and-milk-colored soil so evocative of the beverage, the locals call it the “Terre de Thé.” The 80-year-old vines penetrate deeply into this nutrient-poor but mineral-rich soil.

Tarlov and his team push the envelope of maturity, letting hand-harvested, BB-sized grapes hang on the vines late into the season. Despite incredibly low yields, Tarlov destems just 50% of clusters, because he is able to coax out a beautiful spiced, woodsy quality from his old vines, rather than the green, stemmy qualities you might get in younger vines. All that effort has been rewarded with a 92-point score from Antonio Galloni’s Vinous. That’s just one point shy of the leaders in its category, but the three competitors who bested the 2014 Maison L’Envoyé Moulin-à-Vent at 93 all cost well over $30/bottle.

Vinous praised the “dream vintage” 2014s for their “abundant fresh fruit as well as depth and structure,” suggesting that “readers who enjoy Beaujolais need to stock up on the best 2014s for both immediate enjoyment as well as for cellaring.” We agree. This vintage toes the line between the almost overly expressive 2009s, 2010s, and 2015s and the sometimes miserly 2008s, 2011s, and 2012s.

The 2014 Maison L’Envoyé Moulin-à-Vent Terre de Thé Vielles Vignes is luminous dark ruby in the glass. Pronounced dark brambly fruit aromas and exotic jasmine and violet floral notes. Expansive on the attack, packed with raspberry, marionberry, and blackberry fruit, which becomes more crunchy and tart, plus heaps of baking spice: cinnamon, star anise, and pink peppercorn. An undercurrent of charcoal smokiness and classic Moulin-à-Vent dark rock minerality adds a deep base note. The finish is long, driven by fresh acid and powdery, smooth tannins.

92 points for a mind-boggling Moulin-à-Vent powerhouse that drinks like an over-$60 bottle but is priced under $20. If you somehow find a red Burgundy drinking anywhere near this good for anything close to this price, please drop us a line IMMEDIATELY. In the meantime, $19.99 a bottle, and a promise to our Burgundy and Cru Beaujolais enthusiasts that you will be floored. Shipping included on 6.