Description
Laurent Perrachon, Juliénas “Les Mouilles”
The lower the price point, the lower the expectations, right? WRONG. Not with Cru Beaujolais from an impeccable producer like Laurent Perrachon. Although you certainly could “quaff” today’s juicy and mineral-etched Juliénas, to call it a “quaffer” feels like damning it with faint praise. This happens to me a lot: I taste a wine like Perrachon’s 2019 “Les Mouilles,” I see the price, and I throw up my hands in surrender because this level of wine-per-dollar is hard to top.
It’s almost more than we deserve, but if they can swing it and make a living (a good one, I hope), then I’ll happily keep pouring. Keen-eyed SommSelect subscribers already know the myriad virtues of Perrachon, as we’ve featured several offerings from their broad portfolio over the years. But this stunning cuvée sits at the heart of their operation, literally and metaphorically, sourced from the old vines surrounding their chai, just north of Juliénas proper. Tasting this Gamay was a real coup du cœur! I know that it will captivate you as well, so pack your cellar with this beauty for elevated everyday consumption!
Perhaps not as well-known as the nearby crus of Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent, Juliénas stands out from the other villages with its exuberant aromatics of spice, earth, and flowers. This is a direct result of the blue-colored stones of the region, the pierres bleues, an intermingling of schists, volcanic material, and granite. The Perrachon family are deeply connected to Juliénas, having settled there and been involved in the wine trade since 1601. Farmers first, they established their estate with the purchase of Domaine la Bottière in 1877, but it wasn’t until 5th generation vigneron Laurent acquired another site in the late ’80s—the Domaine des Mouilles—that his vision for the estate began to be realized. Les Mouilles enjoys deep, weathered soils, a steep, south-facing exposure, and lays serious claim to being the best-situated property in the appellation. It’s now the centerpiece in Laurent’s obsession with terroir and quality, as the estate refocuses to single-vineyard bottlings, demonstrating they are working with the best vineyards in six different Beaujolais crus: Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chenas, and Saint-Amour.
In this quest, Laurent is joined by his wife, Maxime, in the cellar, and his brother, Adrien, in the vineyard. They are doing the hard work to renovate and restructure their 70 acres, preserving their old low-yielding, gobelet- and cordon-trained vines with a move to organic viticulture, and further reducing yields by removing a sixth of their vineyard rows. Winemaking hews to a more traditional style, with fruit partially de-stemmed and slowly fermented for two weeks, with daily punch-downs to maximize flavor. Aging takes place in concrete tanks and large, old casks, in the name of freshness.
Pop the cork and let breathe for 30 minutes before pouring into a Burgundy stem to enjoy the saturated magenta robe. The nose rises, a classic melange of dark raspberries and wild blackberries, punctuated with high tones of violets and peonies, and heady notes of exotic spices and dark, stony earth. A supple and generous wine, with plenty of crunchy acids and ripe tannins to frame the wine and bring freshness. A slight chill to the wine underscores the fruit and further enhances the food-friendliness. While delicious and exceedingly drinkable now, I’m confident it has enough gusto for short-term aging. Like Pinot Noir, Gamay pairs well with a wide array of foods, and I think this one has the stuffing for heartier preparations. Keep it rustic and soulful, as in the attached recipe. Bring to the table and raise your glass to the (literal) President of Juliénas, Laurent Perrachon!
