Richard Rottiers - Moulin-à-Vent Les Thorins 2019
94/100
Wine Enthusiast
A brand-new vintage! A delicate, refined wine from granite-rich hillside vineyards. This terroir, with its poor soils, brings out the full aromatic potential of the Gamay grape, giving it a very distinctive aging profile: after a few years, the wine is said to take on “Pinot-like” characteristics. A subtle wine with a stunning peppery finish.
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Starting at €99 on your first order
Nose
Expressive, with notes of dark fruit and spices
Palate
Powerful tannins and a peppery palate rounded out by aging, with good structure and body
Serve
At 15°C
Open
30 minutes ahead of the most recent vintages
Drink from
2024
Drink before
2030
Food and wine pairings
Serve with grilled meat, a cheese platter, veal rolls, or chicken breasts with parsley
Bettane & Desseauve
Rated estate (2020 guide): 2 stars (A solid, recommendable wine, though slightly more consistent and uniform than the previous vintage)
About the estate:
Richard Rottiers was one of the winemakers hardest hit by the relentless hailstorms of recent vintages. On the verge of going under, he managed to find a new lease on life with well-crafted wines sold through the wine merchant. The 2018 vintages were finishing their barrel aging at the time of our visit. The quality is superb and should give our dear winemaker some breathing room. In the meantime, the 2017s, currently on sale, are consistent, well-structured, and, despite modest quantities, reasonably priced.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate
Rated estate (2021 guide) Recommended (Wine producer recommended by Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate)
About the estate:
One of the region’s most dedicated organic farmers, Richard Rottiers struggled during the 2016 and 2017 vintages, when Moulin-à-Vent was ravaged by hail. But 2018 marked a return to a semblance of normalcy, and he produced a fine collection of wines; a feat he has repeated with a 2019 lineup that is livelier and more refined than its predecessors. Semi-carbonic maceration is followed by aging in large oak casks and barrels, depending on the cuvée. Everything reviewed here comes highly recommended.
RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France
Rated estate (2021 guide) Selected (Please note that this guide is a ranking, and as such, all the estates listed here—even those without a star—represent, in our view, the pinnacle of French winemaking.)
About the estate:
Richard Rottiers belongs to the generation that brought the Beaujolais terroirs to prominence. An engineer specializing in agriculture and the environment, he is passionate about soil biology. After gaining experience in New Zealand, this native of Chablis settled in Romanèche-Thorins. He began winemaking in 2003 in Fleurie, then trained in vineyard and cellar work for three years at Château Thivin. In 2008, he took over a leased estate in Moulin-à-Vent, which he cultivates organically. He made his debut in the guide last year.
Wine Enthusiast
Wine rated (2020 guide) 94/100
Rated estate (2020 guide) Recommended (Wine producer recommended by Wine Enthusiast)
Jancis Robinson
Rated winery (2020 guide) Recommended
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