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A Father/son-in-law team, with Gino Bertolla making Moulin-à-Vent
at Domaine du Granit, and his son-in-law Franck Bessone making Chénas
at his own home, Domaine de la Croix Barraud just up the road in Chénas.
Gino Bertolla is currently working towards his retirement, and Franck
is gradually in the process of taking over the running of both estates,
although Gino Bertolla is still quite hands-on. These wines deserve a
very special mention. The wines from Domaine du Granit are some of the
very best Moulin-à-Vent you will ever taste. Not only a gifted
winemaker, M. Bertolla is also fortunate enough to own some of the finest
parcels of vines in the appellation - including many extremely old vines
- some 100+ years old, which were producing wine before the outbreak of
the First World War, when Britain still had a decent empire. These are
amazing ancient examples, producing tiny quantities of grapes with huge
concentration of flavours and pigment. The vineyards are located on a
windswept hillside with soils of decomposed pink granite, high above the
famous eponymous windmill. This can indeed seem a bleak place in winter,
when the bare gnarled vines under leaden skies give little hint as to
what these extraordinary plants are capable of producing. The slightly
cooler temperatures due to a higher elevation, the shallow and very rocky
granitic soil, and the age of the vines all explain the austerity of the
wines in their youth, with strong mineral character and great aging potential.
The wines are rich, dark, heady and perfumed - a very Burgundian style
of Gamay, not really comparable with other Beaujolais Crus. The reason
stems from the soil - Moulin-à-Vent has very unique decomposed
pink granite topsoil over varying concentrations of manganese. Vines don't
particularly like this, and drive their roots deep to work hard to produce
fruit - and in doing so bring all those minerals to it. Soil types such
as these give places like Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, and Cornas
their highly mineral quality, and Bertolla's Gamay seems to have many
of the characteristics normally associated with Syrah grown in these tricky
spots, whilst still maintaining the black cherry Burgundian qualities.
In the cellar Bertolla adopts a minimalist approach, working simply with
natural yeasts, long maceration, slow fermentation, barrel-aging, and
bottling without filtration. The resulting range of wines bears little
resemblance to the fresh fruity specimens for which Gamay is famous. Somewhat
grander in style altogether, these are how old-time great Gamay can taste.
They can be a little austere when young (less so the Cuvée Tradition),
ideally needing some bottle age; they age beautifully, like fine Burgundies.
They are perhaps best classified as halfway between the style of a heavier
Beaujolais Cru and a Burgundy. To drink one of these Moulins is to experience
a fabulous expression of the soil, a man's dedication, and complexity
you would never have thought possible from a Beaujolais.Domaine du Granit
was created in 1974, when Alfred and his wife, née Colette Mazoyer,
succeeded her father, Lucien Mazoyer. Her grandfather Claude had acquired
some vineyards in the hamlet of La Rochelle in 1918, 6 years before the
creation of the Moulin-à-Vent appellation.The Chénas wines
made this 8 hA Domaine run by Franck Bessone, son-in-law of Gino Bertolla
of Domaine du Granit, has vines aged on average 40 years. Franck is the
3rd generation of his family to run this property.
Data Sheets
Moulin-à-Vent
2005 "La Rochelle" Vielles Vignes Ref: 3332114
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