Moulin-à-Vent is one of the most prestigious of the crus of Beaujolais, and has a reputation for making age worthy wines. And there’s a new star on the scene, the revitalized Château du Moulin-à-Vent, which has been doing impressive work in the vineyards and cellars since being purchased by the Parinet family. The famous windmill of Moulin-à-Vent sits at the heart of this 620 hectare Cru in Beaujolais, in the village of Romanèche Thorins. And just below it is the impressive Château du Moulin-à-Vent, which has been renovated extensively since it was acquired by Jean-Jacques Parinet in 2009. Parinet originally came from Beaujolais but then made his money in the IT business, and for the last few years he’s been assisted by Brice Laffond, who oversees both the winery and the 30 hectares of vines the domaine owns. His son Edouard also works with the domaine, and both act as co-proprietors.

In Moulin-à-Vent, the most interesting terroirs aren’t at the top or the bottom of the cru, but in a strip running east to west, and the Château is in the middle of this strip, looking across to the border of the appellation (some trees mark this), and over to Fleurie. The Château has 130 parcels of vines, and gradually they are being trellised, although it’s not possible to use cane pruning in the crus – the vines must be head trained. One of the motivations for the trellising is to make it easier to work the soils. Romanèche Thorins, the local town, used to be the site of a manganese mine, and the soils here have a high concentration of metallic oxides.