Gamay

Come off trail with us to Côte Roannaise. This secret garden of the Loire Valley is an under-the-radar hot-bed for stunning Gamay, but rarely makes it onto store shelves. We’re happy to share that we’ve got our hands on a few bottles from Vincent Giraudon so that you can get a glimpse of what this little-known area is all about. Vincent farms a tiny parcel and vinifies with his good friend Romain Paire, whose Domaine Pothiers is one of the most visible reference points for the Côte Roannaise. He’s a young winemaker drawing eyes back to the region with his minimal intervention approach and elegant results.

Delicious, drinkable Gamay gets a stony mineral backbone from the granite studded soils of Côte Roannaise. This is classic Gamay through a crisp new lens — it’s pure pleasure to drink, and reminds us of the audacious, natural Beaujolais winemakers we know and love. Bright violets and berries jump out of the glass.

In 2018, David Chapel and Michel Smith of Domaine Chapel created the Smith-Chapel label to distinguish wines they make with organic fruit purchased in Beaujolais and nearby regions, as opposed to fruit they farm themselves. This bottling of Moulin-a-Vent is the first Beaujolais under the Smith-Chapel label. Since the beginning of their domaine in 2016, their wines have been quick to achieve cult status and this moulin a Vent will be no exception. 

Bertrand comes from a lineage of winemakers in Fleurie and is coming up with the new generation of Beaujolais makers. “Les Bambins” translates to “the kids” (bambinos) in reference to him becoming a father in 2017. Blue volcanic rock and volcanic schist make this bottling a study in terroir of Cru Beaujolais.