2022 Domaine Anita Moulin-à-Vent Coeur de Vigneronne.

Last year I got the opportunity to purchase several bottles of Beaujolais from Domaine Anita. This is a tiny domaine in the Beaujolais region of France where wines of the same name are produced from the Gamay grape. Interestingly, Beaujolais is adjacent and directly South of Burgundy. Gamay used to be a common grape variety in Burgundy as well but in 1395 Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy decreed that all Gamay be destroyed in Burgundy within a one month period. While historians argue about the reasons for this decree it definitely made Gamay somewhat of a 'lesser' varietal in France and that has had repercussions that have existed to present day.

Yesterday, we opened a bottle of 2022 Domaine Anita Moulin-à-Vent Coeur de Vigneronne. The 2021 bottling of this wine was the first Beaujolais ever to be scored 100 points by a major reviewer and this 2022 bottle also received 100 points from James Suckling. Nick and I occasionally enjoy a Beaujolais Noveau in the Fall but we don't drink much real Beaujolais (Noveau and regular Beaujolais are completely different styles of wine) so this was an attempt to see if the best the region had to offer would change our minds about Gamay and Beaujolais.

On the nose this wine had strong red fruit, briary wood, dry spice, and stone. On the palate it was deep red and black fruit with a strong mineral core, a light white pepper at the finish and a briary wildness. Beautifully integrated tannins and a good vein of acid that made it very fresh and refreshing. Despite being a very serious wine it was easy to drink. I completely understand why this got a 100 point score and it towered above any Beaujolais I've ever had before.

However, while I appreciate how beautiful this wine is, I don't think Beaujolais is our thing. Even with such an excellent example, it did not have concentration of flavors and the mouthfeel was very thin. I don't think these are criticisms because I think this is exactly how Gamay wine should be. It's just that we prefer the highly concentrated, rich wines with more textured mouthfeel.

Where this does represent an opportunity though is for those who want to get into wine but the rich, heavy Cabs are just too much. I think overall, most people would really like this easy drinking, lower alcohol, refreshing style of wine. And, best of all, Beaujolais is criminally underpriced. Most 100 point bottles of Napa Cab or Bordeaux are in the $300-$600/bottle range while this Domaine Anita 100 pointer cost me $50 for the 2021 and $25 for the 2022. I think this is the reason there is so much buzz around Beaujolais right now. There is just no where in the world you can get wines of exceptional quality for this type of money. So, if you want to ball on a budget and impress your wine friends while still holding on to your cash, Beaujolais just might be your jam.