Jean Paul Brun Moulin-a-Vent ‘la Rochelle’ is a magnificent wine with a wonderful depth of flavour, beautiful finesse and aromas of black fruit, violets, spice and hedgerow fruit. Like Morgon, the Beaujolais Cru of Moulin a Vent is famous for its longevity and more Burgundian style. Jean Paul Brun’s ‘La Rochelle’ vineyard which is planted with 100% Gamay sits at the top of a hill and benefits from cooler breezes and granite soil. The area’s soil also contains high levels of manganese which helps reduce the yields and results in more concentrated berries.
Jean-Paul founded Domaine Terres Dorees in 1979 with four hectares of vineyards around his hometown of Charnay. His vineyard holdings have expanded nearly as much as his reputation as the Godfather of Beaujolais (I may have coined that phrase) and he now farms over 60 hectares which includes prime sites in the Cru Villages of Morgon, Moulin a Vent, Fleurie and St Amour. During the 1980s and 1990s Beaujolais captured the public imagination with Beaujolais Nouveau and a style of wine that was young, fruity, not very serious and smelt more like bubble-gum and bananas than wine. Jean Paul hated this style and wanted to make wine in a more traditional way that expressed the grape and the terroir. He has always farmed organically, and steers clear of manipulating the wines via carbon maceration, thermo-vinification and yeast inoculation which have become the norm in Beaujolais. He also believes his wines taste better at lower alcohol levels so does not add extra sugar (chapitalise) to raise alcohol levels. The resulting wines all have great complexity along with the juicy, almost sappy fruit associated with Beaujolais.
