2015 Domaine des Rosiers Moulin-a-Vent 750 ml

One of the Greatest Values in All of France

If you’re a fan of red Burgundy but have yet to jump on the Cru Beaujolais bandwagon, please allow me to vigorously recommend this wine to you as definitive proof that the best wines from this area are some of the greatest values in all of France. Furthermore, I’ll double down and say that this 2015 Domaine des Rosiers Moulin-à-Vent can stand toe-to-toe with Pinot Noir-based wines produced elsewhere in the region. This is a serious effort, with loads of intense black cherry and plum fruit, a dense, yet supple mid-palate and a nice bit of grip on the palate. This wine is delicious now, but has the concentration and structure that will easily support another five years of cellaring. At under-$20 per bottle, the quality-to-price ratio of this wine is extremely high. Our 36 cases will go fast.

For the last 10 years of my life, I have been intensely passionate about red Burgundy. It all started when I was lucky enough to land a gig with one of the top U.S. importers of wines from the region. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Burgundy on several occasions and happily recall standing in the greatest vineyards with some of the top producers in the region. But in the early days of my career, Red Burgundy equaled Pinot Noir. I just never considered Beaujolais or its Gamay Noir grape to be an equal. Everything changed at a dinner I attended in the Mâcon with a group of winemakers who each brought old vintages of their wines to share. That night, among some of the most respected winemakers in Burgundy, it was a humble, eight-year-old Moulin-à-Vent that blew everyone’s mind, including mine. The complex, developed aromas and fine structure reminded me of delicious, mature Pinot Noir from the Côte d’Or. After that, I was a believer.

As far as the crus of Beaujolais go (there are 10 of them), Moulin-à-Vent is often placed at the top of the list; its poor granite soils streaked with manganese and iron yield concentrated fruit that in turn makes for long-lived wines. In an exceptional vintage like 2015, the overall quality throughout the region fared quite well, but the results in the top terroirs like Moulin-à-Vent have been remarkable. Wine critics have been gushing about the vintage’s quality, with James Suckling saying of the 2015 Beaujolais wines he tasted, “The balance of fruit, structure and acidity was irresistible.”