Château Moulin-A-Vent

The exceptional qualities of Moulin-à-Vent were first detected by Philiberte Pommier, who noticed that the plots around the Château each had distinct features. She set about organising the terroirs of the estate, which was called "Château des Thorins" at the time (The appellation "Moulin-à-Vent" only appeared in 1936). Philiberte noticed that one particular plot, right next to the Château, provided the perfect soil to bring out the characteristics of the Gamay grape (This plot is now used for the special cuvée Clos de Londres).

In 1862, Philiberte was 99 years old and she finally achieved the recognition her efforts deserved, when her 1854, 1858 and 1859 vintages were ranked the best wines in the Mâcon region at the Universal Exhibition in London in 1862. The award for the 1854 vintage, bottled some 8 years before, highlighted another aspect of Philiberte's pioneering work, her insistence that the wines of the Château could age successfully.

Much of Philiberte Pommier's philosophy, including individual plots and wine ageing, have rubbed off on Jean-Jacques Parinet.

French writer, poet and politician, Alphonse de Lamartine, fell madly in love at the Château du Moulin-à-Vent. In a letter he wrote to his close friend Aymar de Virieu, he goes on at length about Marie-Henriette Pommier, the daughter of Philiberte.

"She's a young woman of 20, small and with a very pretty figure, reserved, knowledgeable and with an excellent education and considerable talents, who fills the days painting or learning Italian or studying other subjects still more difficult, dancing like an angel and with the most reasonable character. She is an only daughter and possesses a dowry of nearly 50,000 ecus, she has been raised by a mother who adores her and a good-natured father, she is independent of spirit and conducts herself like a young English girl... As we had much in common, I soon became her friend and thence I had the misfortune to become intoxicated by love."

In between his many travels, Lamartine became a regular visitor to the Château in 1811 and 1812, drawn by his love of Marie-Henriette Pommier. However, the liaison did not meet with his father's approval and Lamartine was forbidden to see Marie-Henriette any more. In a later letter he wrote to Aymar de Virieu on 27 May 1812, Lamartine tells how the relationship ended

"… Complaints have been voiced of my supposed coldness, and my parents' opposition to this union, and I was finally told that in the interest of propriety and the young girl herself, we must separate and bid each other farewell..."
Lamartine was sent off on a trip to Italy to put an end to his relationship with Marie-Henriette and his visits to the Château, for which French literature will be eternally grateful. Many invocations of the Château and his Italian trip are to be found in Lamartine's poetry and writings.

This is an extract from the Report on the wines of Mâcon and Beaujolais, written by Mr de Parseval-Grandmaison in 1862:

"If all the wines from the same area of the same commune are put together within a single class, it often happens that, within this commune, differences in terroir or exposure produce significant differences in the quality of the wines. In such cases, the best wines take the name either of hamlet or of the clos where the grapes are grown. This is especially noticeable in the communes of Romanèche and La Chapelle-de-Guinchay, the wines of which are of superior quality in the upper parts of the land and of a lesser quality in the lower parts. With regard to Romanèche, there is such a difference that some are ranked as first-class and others in the second and even in the third class. 1st-class red wines: Les Thorins, hamlet of Romanèche, produces the most elegant and the most delicate of all the wines within the Macon region (...). They are light, spirituous and sappy, with an excellent nose."

These are the vineyards of Thorins (the plots of Les Thorins, la Rochelle, les Vérillats, le Champ de Cour...), in the upper part of Moulin-à Vent, which still today produce the finest wines of the appellation and which include the wines of Château du Moulin à Vent.

Although the first mention of the Château in official records dates back to 1732, wine has in all likelihood been made here since the 16th century. In the 18th century, the Château was called Château des Thorins, after the hamlet named Les Thorins or Les Torreins, where it was located. The wines already had a reputation for quality, and descriptions have been found in historical documents of the time.


La Géographie de nos villages ou dictionnaire du Maconnais, published by Citoyen Puthod, in Mâcon, in the year 8 of the Republic (1801), describes Torreins as follows : "… There is an old proverb of Beaujolais: Every wine is good with a meal, but a meal can't be enjoyed without Torreins. The merit of this wine is that it is firm, but supple, it has good body but also has lightness, it is ruby coloured and transparent, with a flattering nose and a delicate taste..." The Château and its vines have only been sold twice in its long history, in 1911 and in 2009, which shows its strong sentimental attachment and emblematic character.

In March 2009, Jean-Jacques Parinet bought the Château and its estate to the Damoy (who owned a string of eponymous grocery stores in France). Under the new ownership, the Château has won back its leading position. While the terroir has always been of exceptional quality, Jean-Jacques Parinet recognised that considerable investment was needed in both the winemaking facilities and the vineyards.

70,000 vines have been replanted, while the winemaking and ageing cellars have been given a complete makeover to bring the facilities in line with the quality of the terroirs. The magnificent 2009 vintage is an outstanding example of the wine that can be made on the estate's 37 ha of vineyards, and illustrates the role the Château has as an ambassador of the appellation. Parinet also introduced a quality strategy, based on highlighting the individual characteristics of each of the major terroirs, resulting in the vinification of 4 individual wines that emphasise the often underestimated richness of the appellation. The estate also switched to reasoned agriculture since Parinet's arrival.

Each plot within the Château du Moulin-à-Vent vineyard has its own identity and individual characteristics. Many factors differentiate each plot: sun exposure, single vineyard slope for sure, but also red iron oxide veins, rooting depths, texture of granites, presence of clays, exposure to winds...

The 37 Ha are planted with a density of 9000/Ha.
Yields are very low and vary between 20 to 35 Hl/Ha.
The average age of vines is 40 years old.

The vines are trellised with gobelet pruning. The granite soil is rich in iron oxide, copper and manganese (which was previously exploited in the villge of Romanèche-Thorins), and provides ideal conditions for the appellation's single varietal, Gamay noir à jus blanc.

Château du Moulin-à-Vent uses natural soil amendment and manual weed control. Soil preparation sets out to encourage the roots of the vines to dig down deep and also aerates the substrates to help the vines benefit from the terroir.

The finest plots are manually disbudded to encourage maturity and concentration. The trellised plots are managed to maximise leaf exposure and photosynthesis, or, when weather conditions are extreme, to minimise the effects. The grapes are picked manually, and transported immediately to the winery in small containers to avoid juice pre-oxidation and prevent the clusters getting crushed. Every precaution is taken to ensure the grapes arrive at the press whole and unbroken.

The wines are vinified and aged in accordance with natural cycles and with the specific features of each wine. The Château du Moulin-à-Vent has completely renewed its barrel stock, which now stands at 200 barrels, made by the finest Burgundy coopers. The capacity, wood, grain and toast intensity and time are carefully chosen to achieve the right balance. The average age of barrels in the cellar is 2,5 years.

The wood induces natural micro-oxygenation, to create a finer taste, while ageing varies according to the vintage and the terroirs. The estate's winemaker uses all his considerable skills to produce wine of the highest quality in every vintage.