2024 Lucien Lardy Moulin-à-Vent "Les Thorins"

Before the famous windmill gave Moulin-à-Vent its name in 1936, the wines from this hillside were sold as "Thorins," and the slope was so well regarded that the village of Romanèche added it to its own name. Les Thorins is still the heart of the appellation, a bank of pink granite shot through with manganese where Gamay stops being the easygoing grape of the family and starts behaving like something a bit more serious and contemplative from the Côte d'Or. Lucien Lardy ferments his Gamay in whole bunches the traditional Beaujolais way, but with one twist: a grid pins the fruit down under the fermenting juice, so the wine keeps all the violets-and-crushed-berry perfume the method is famous for and picks up the color, grip and depth that most carbonic wines never get. 2024 was a patience-testing year in Beaujolais, with a rainy August and a cool September that pushed picking back, and the growers who kept their vineyards clean were rewarded with wines of unusual lift and crunch. Fortunately for us, this is just one of those wines! The 2024 Lardy Moulin-à-Vent leans bright and red-fruited: crushed raspberry and violets abound, with a lick of iron and cracked pepper, and a juicy, palate thrilling finish. Truly a delicious bottling, and a stunning value in Moulin-à-Vent!