Description
From southeast-facing parcels in Moulin-à-Vent, Philippe Pacalet Moulin-à-Vent 2016 is a Beaujolais red from France produced under the Moulin-à-Vent AOC from 100 percent Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. Philippe Pacalet, nephew of Marcel Lapierre and a student of Jules Chauvet, spent a decade at Domaine Prieuré-Roch before establishing his Beaune-based négociant house in 2001. Producer material names La Roche, La Petite Roche, Les Amandilliers, and Les Brusselions as fruit sources, while the 2016 technical sheet also cites Les Roches, La Delatte, Aux Caves, and La Grande Charrière. The vines average about 55 years, are planted at high density, and grow on manganese-bearing granite weathered into the pink sand locally known as gorrhe. Farming is described as organic or environmentally respectful, though altitude is not published. Whole bunches were sorted and vinified without sulfur, fermented with indigenous yeasts, worked by daily pigeage for two and a half weeks, and aged on lees in used barrels. The cuvée places Pacalet’s work in Beaujolais through old Gamay vines, whole-cluster fermentation, and low-intervention élevage.