Placeholder Image
SommSelect

Pascal Granger, Moulin-à-Vent, “Les Chassignols”

Burgundy, France 2013 (750mL)
$26.00
/
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol
SommSelect

Pascal Granger, Moulin-à-Vent, “Les Chassignols”

It seems you all cannot get enough of Pascal Granger’s stylish, deeply impactful wines: We’ve offered a couple different bottlings this year and each time everyone has swung for the fences, snatching them up as if it was your last day on earth—and we don’t blame you! Truth be told, we wanted to wait until Thanksgiving to offer this wine, but with limited quantities and overly eager buyers, we couldn’t chance it!
With Granger’s insanely value-driven and cellar-worthy wines, we’ve learned not to give pause or “wait for the right moment.” Instead, we pounce on what we’re allowed to grab and release it into your hands. There are few examples of “serious,” built-to-age reds from these famous Cru villages, and even fewer make it into the US market. Still, a small cadre of elite producers have a rich history of crafting longer-macerated, barrel-aged reds that truly express their Burgundian terroir. Today, you have another chance to experience one of these tried-and-true names. Pascal Granger is one of the region’s most historic and talented vignerons and his 2014 Moulin-à-Vent is a ready-to-drink stunner that is a cellar-worthy candidate to boot. Les Chassignols is an incredible deal—all of his wines are—but, as always, the frenzied demand far exceeds his tiny production.
[**NOTE: This wine will be shipping from our warehouse the week of Monday, August 6th]

Pascal Granger’s farmstead and vineyards are located in and around the hamlet of Les Poupets in the village of Juliénas. The Granger family has farmed these same vineyards for going on three centuries, dating back to the Napoleonic era, with parcels continually being passed down across multiple generations of Granger fathers and sons. Today’s irrepressibly delicious Moulin-à-Vent “Les Chassignols” comes from a microscopic, half-hectare parcel of 50 to 70-year-old Gamay vines planted on granite. Fruit is hand-harvested before approximately 30% is left to ferment in whole clusters while the remainder is destemmed. Fermentation at Granger occurs in cement vats and can extend upwards of three weeks. By Moulin-à-Vent standards, this is an eternity, and a significant contributing factor to the robustness, depth, and impressive structure of today’s wine. Following fermentation, the wine was racked into neutral oak demi-muids and foudres (both larger vessels) for six months of aging, and then an additional period of bottle aging takes place before release.

Granger’s 2014 “Les Chassignol” is one impressive drinking experience, with slow-building power that finishes with resounding terroir and dense fruit. This is an exceptional Cru Beaujolais that reveals a bevy of fruit, flowers, and minerality after a 30-60 minute decant. Serve this wine in large Burgundy stems around 60 degrees and prepare yourself for the alluring aromatics and supple textures that have been “unlocked” due to your patience. Aromas of fresh-picked violet and rose petal jump out of the glass, followed by black and bing cherry, wild raspberry, huckleberry, crushed granite, fruitcake, soft spices, grape stems, and vintage leather. “Les Chassignols is a wonderfully satisfying experience that shows the serious, brooding side of Beaujolais—it belongs in the glass and cellar of any Burgundy or classic French wine enthusiast. It’s undeniably delicious and still has a long life ahead of it, so don’t hesitate to lay a few bottles down for future enjoyment. This deeply textured 2014 should be treated like a main course wine—prepare a tender pork tenderloin along with a decadent blackberry bacon sauce. It’s a ritzy presentation that’s cheap and easy to make. I guarantee this combination of wine and food will garner compliments. Cheers!
Placeholder Image
Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceCru Beaujolais — Moulin-à-Vent
Soil
Granite
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Gamay 100%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
Various Large Neutral Barrels
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stem
Drinking
Now-2023
Decanting
15-20 Minutes
Pairing
Pork Tenderloin w/ Blackberry-Bacon Sauce

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

Others We Love