Skip to main content

Edouard Parinet of Chateau du Moulin-à-Vent

I had the opportunity to meet and taste with Edouard Parinet of Chateau du Moulin-à-Vent when he visited Houston a few weeks ago. We tasted some fantastic Beaujolais Cru wines that are perfect Spring reds. At the time, none were available in our market for retail purchase which is a big disappointment as I really enjoyed them all. The wines are on the wine list at Brennan's Steakhouse and Hugo's restaurant, check them out there.

 The red wines of Beaujolais are made from Gamay, a grape that gives a raspberry or cherry character and has lighter tannins with fresh acidity. Beaujolais is often thought of as a luncheon or picnic wine but the wines of Chateau du Moulin-à-Vent can do that and more. Moulin-à-Vent is one of the Beaujolais Crus and the wines produced in this area are known to be some of the most full bodied in the region that can also improve with bottle ageing. 

 Across the board, the wines of Chateau du Moulin-à-Vent were more concentrated than most of the Beaujolais Cru wines that I have tasted previously. His wines had the addition of a spicy component and an earthy quality that made for a far more interesting drink than a typical Beaujolais with a broader pairing ability for more serious meals.

 I asked Edouard what was the factor that created the power behind his wine and his reply was that, in addition to the granitic soils on his vineyards on which Gamay performs best, it was the winds of the area that had a drying effect on the grapes that truly concentrated the flavors and created the full bodied and more powerful wines that are produced at Chateau du Moulin-à-Vent. Juicy, deep and persistent; I personally would like to see more of this type of red wine through spring and on into our hot summer. All highly recommended!

*Houston Wine Merchant has the ability to order any of the wines of Chateau du Moulin-à-Vent, as well.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for reading Wine Life - Houston.

Popular posts from this blog

Winemaker, Andrés Sánchez of Alcance

I was invited to a media and trade tasting lunch at Backstreet Cafe with Andrés Sánchez, the winemaker for Alcance, a Jackson Family winery. As guests arrived, we were greeted with a glass of lightly chilled Alcance Chardonnay 2016, a perfect start for a hot summer day in Houston. This rich and elegant Chardonnay is grown on granitic soils in a coastal mountain vineyard in the Valle de Itata. Despite my multiple wine classes, this was a growing area with which I was not familiar. This vineyard is located between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean about 12 miles from the coast which as Sánchez pointed out adds a nice sea influence to the wine. The Chardonnay was pleasantly fresh with light citrus notes and a touch of butterscotch with a distinct saline mineralty throughout the slightly creamy finish.  A mixed appetizer platter with Gulf Coast Beignets, duck spring rolss, asparagus and zuchini flatbread, and lump crab cakes on red pepper beurre blanc were br...
Post a Comment
Read more

Darioush Wine Tasting at Pappas Grill

I went to a  Darioush wine tasting last Friday. What a delight! I found every bottle we tasted to be exceptional. Darioush is well-known for their Bordeaux styled wines so I was already familiar with both the Darioush "Signature" and the Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. They are both highly rated and consistently good. The Caravan is the lower priced of the two and is something that I keep in stock at home. The wines in the line up for the evening were all from Napa Valley and included: 2008 Signature Viognier, 2005 Signature Chardonnay, 2005 Signature Merlot, 2007 Signature Shiraz, 2007 Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon, and both the 2006 & 2007 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2007 was opened by mistake which was a bonus to all who were present. The Viognier varietal has been hit and miss for me at tastings in the past but this offering was an absolute stand out. It was very fragrant with floral notes of jasmine and or...
Post a Comment
Read more

"The Zen of Zin" Tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks

On Friday evening, my husband and I attended the Zinfandel wine tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks. My husband gets totally pumped up for any and all things Zinfandel but what I found really intriguing in the line up of wines were the aged offerings. Brent Sloan, managing partner at Houston's premier wine storage facility Nos Caves Vin, had provided Fleming's with four 18 year old bottlings and one 17 year old bottling from his collection of some of his favorites. I found this interesting because 1. I don't believe that I have ever had an 18 year old Zinfandel before this evening and 2. From various wine classes, I had always heard that at best Zinfandel had very limited aging ability. So, I was definitely excited to give these wines a taste. There were also an additional five younger Zinfandel wines that are some of Fleming's best sellers. The entire tasting line up for the evening included: 2009 Orin Swift Saldo - California 2007 Schulz "Lampyridae...
5 comments
Read more