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Date May 10, 2015 
Title Last Call for the Marvellous Moulin-à-Vent from Château des Gimarets!! 
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Subject: Marvellous Moulin-à-Vent from Château des Gimarets!!

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Dear Arthur’s Cellar Wine Club Member:

We will be taking your orders for the glorious Moulin-à-Vent from Château des Gimarets to the LCBO this coming Friday, May 15th. We are featuring the splendid 2012 Tradition Moulin-à-Vent, the 2010 ‘Esprit de ma Terre’ and the 2010 ‘Fût de Chêne. As a special treat, we also have the Château des Gimarets Sampler containing two bottles of all three. Don’t miss out on these truly marvellous Moulin-à-Vent.

Beaujolais

In addition to being one of the most misunderstood and maligned wine regions of France, Beaujolais is also one of the two most beautiful (the other being Alsace). Its vineyards strung across the enchanted mountainsides that mark the beginning of France’s Massif Central and countless quaint villages make it a wonderful place to visit. The many fine restaurants and great wines make it darn near perfect. Situated between the cities of Mâcon to the north and Lyon to south, Beaujolais is about fifty kilometres long and between eleven and fourteen kilometres wide.

The vast majority of the wine produced in Beaujolais is red and is made mostly from the Gamay grape (officially, Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc). They are permitted to add up to fifteen percent of white varieties, but seldom do. They also make what is often a most delightful white from Chardonnay (and occasionally from Aligoté - permitted if planted before 2004). And, while there are some twenty-six hundred growers in the region, most of them sell their harvests to the few large firms that dominate the business. About ninety percent of the Beaujolais exported to North America are these négociant wines.

Carte vignoble beaujolais.pngRobert Parker in his tome ‘Burgundy’ notes, “Gamay seems to thrive in the stony, schistous soils of the region. Most red wine grapes have trouble producing high-quality crops in granite-based soils, but Gamay seems to be a natural. The compelling characteristic of Gamay wine is its youthful, fresh, exuberant, crunchy fruit, which the vignerons of Beaujolais have learned to maximize by producing it in an unusual method called carbonic maceration. In this style of vinification, the grapes are not pressed, but simply dumped unceremoniously into a vat in full bunches. Grapes at the very bottom of the vat burst because of the weight on top of them. That juice begins to ferment, warming up the vat and causing fermentation in the unbroken grapes to begin inside their skins. The advantage of this technique is that a wine’s perfume and fruity intensity is largely related to what is inside the grape skin. The acid and tannins are largely extracted from the breaking and crushing of the skins.”

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQrtF8O3sFDQeocl5UjiwdQ1XyAxifwuvJ9iugbIls2F4JnutdmAnd then there is Beaujolais Nouveau! Beaujolais had always made a vin de l'année to celebrate the end of the harvest, but until WWII it was only for local consumption. However, in 1951, some enterprising members of the Union Interprofessionnelle des Vins du Beaujolais (UIVB) pounced upon a sensational marketing ploy by initiating a race to Paris carrying barrels of the new harvest. What a great way to unload oceans of what otherwise would become vin ordinaire and to generate terrific cash flow. And, what a great excuse for a party! Over succeeding vintages the races spread throughout Europe and North America and in 1985 the third Thursday of November became the official launch day of Beaujolais Nouveau. But, the fruity young wine became a mixed blessing for the Beaujolais. It certainly created massive market awareness for their wine producing region and can be credited for weaning many North Americans off sugar-laded blushes and leading them on their way to more serious wines.

Much to the chagrin of the producers of serious Gamay wines, Beaujolais Nouveau has created a virtually indelible image for the region … cheap and cheerful. It is very difficult for them to find markets for their wines and when they do, prices are depressed. Of course, the flip side to this dilemma is that we are able to purchase superb wines from Beaujolais for a fraction of what similar wines a few kilometres to the north in Burgundy would command.

Moulin-à-Vent  

http://www.discoverbeaujolais.com/assets/images/Moulin-a-vent/Moulin-a-vent-1.jpgWith the town of Romanèche-Thorins (home of George Duboeuf’s massive enterprise) as its hub, Moulin-à-Vent is often referred to as the King of Beaujolais. But, the wines made there are not typical of Beaujolais and many say they bear more in common with Burgundy. As Robert Parker notes, “There is no doubt that the best Moulin-à-Vents are the richest, fullest, and most ageworthy wines produced in Beaujolais. A 7 or 10-year-old example from one of the best producers will have more in common with a Pinot Noir from the Côte de Beaune than anything produced from the Gamay grape. The production of Moulin-à-Vent, which is now creeping up towards 400,000 cases annually, has no shortage of buyers willing to pay one of the highest prices asked for any of the crus of Beaujolais. Many attribute the underlying richness and structure of Moulin-à-Vent, which produces larger-scaled, more muscular wines, to the fact that the granite-based soil is rich in minerals such as manganese. This provides a greater depth of color and flavor than Gamay is capable of achieving from the granite soils of the other crus.”

A Brief History of Château des Gimarets

Château des Gimarets - Bourgogne - Saône et LoireThe Château des Gimarets winery was founded in the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIV … when Molière was producing his plays, Lully was composing his music and Rembrandt was creating his paintings. The original château was built in 1650 on the foundation of a Roman Villa that even back then had been surrounded by vineyards.  It was destroyed by a fire in 1780 and rebuilt in 1810 by Louis Chaumet, a French prosecutor from Mâcon. This romantic house is located in a bicentennial park amid very old cedar, oak and pine trees, facing the vineyards, near the windmill.

Eric and Nathalie Boyer purchased the estate in 2007 and proceeded to modernized its equipment and enhance the 4.5 hectares of vineyards (with their vines averaging forty-five years of age). They have adopted grape growing techniques and a blend that respect nature and employ of the best elements of modern and traditional wine-making practices in the cellar. They produce about 25,000 bottles each year. Their efforts have been richly rewarded as their top-quality wines have regularly won awards and rave reviews from the wine press. Their wines are listed in the renowned French 'Guide Hachette', and have won medals from the 'Mâcon International Wine Fair', the 'Tastevinage of Clos Vougeot', 'Les Grands Vins du Beaujolais of Villefranche-sur-Saône', the 'Féminalise of Beaune' and so on.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/O93_qzSrz0u3TGUO_-lZliopyyGBT3BEPV0x1QdD2hixaU8anhWxQxqe8OBK-7rZEhXZEric and Nathalie have their welcome mat out for any of our wine club members who stray into this little piece of vinous paradise.  They also have a bed and breakfast which opens onto the park, should you wish to tarry a while.

Our Second Offering from Château des Gimarets

This time we are featuring the 2012 Moulin-à-Vent Tradition along with the 2010 Moulin-à-Vent ‘Esprit de ma Terre and the 2010 Moulin-à-Vent Fût de Chêne along with a mixed case Sampler containing two bottles of each. They all come in six-bottle cases. We will be taking your orders for these marvelous Moulin-à-Vents to the LCBO on Friday, May 15th.


2012 Château des Gimarets Tradition – 13.0% Alc./Vol.               $29/$174 case of 6
http://www.chateaudesgimarets.fr/IMG/chateau-V.jpgI can’t say enough good things about this outstanding wine. Made of course from 100% Gamay Noir, it seems to have everything – power, complexity and charm. It is a lovely, elegant, medium-bodied wine and is truly delicious. A deep red colour, the nose is of blackberries, red fruit (strawberries and cherries), with floral notes, some wood (cedar? – very light) and spices. It is beautifully balanced, possesses nice soft tannins and good length. This is a very serious wine and would be a fine companion for salmon in almost any form and roast fowl. It will keep nicely and perhaps become even more enjoyable (hard to imagine) for at least another three or four years. Bravo to Eric and Nathalie for this tour de force! Order this sumptuous treasure now.


2010 Château des Gimarets ‘L’Esprit de ma Terre’ – 13.0% Alc./Vol.   $36/$216 case of 6
http://www.chateaudesgimarets.fr/IMG/espritdematerre-V.jpgThis lovely, expressive wine is Eric’s pride and joy. He puts this Moulin-à-Vent through a longer and slightly different wine-making process giving it a more tannic structure and an even riper, fruitier taste. It is a shimmering dark red colour and has a pronounced nose of blackberries, spices and a dollop of new leather. In the mouth it is full and round with silky tannins and crisp acidity. This is a marvellous companion for meats in sauces, cheese and roasts. It is drinking nicely now and will continue to evolve in the cellar for at least another eight years.  Order Eric’s tour de force now.


2010 Château des Gimarets Fût de Chêne – 13.0% Alc./Vol.         $34/$204 case of 6
http://www.chateaudesgimarets.fr/IMG/futdechene-V.jpgWhat sets this striking wine apart from Eric and Nathalie’s other Moulin-à-Vent is that it rests in oak for several months during its vinification process. The result is a somewhat bigger, more powerful wine that is sure to please those who enjoy a bit of the new world character in their reds. It is a deep, brooding ruby red and offers up vibrant aromas of black fruit, exotic spices, white flowers and a touch of vanilla. It is powerful in the mouth, elegant with a long, lingering, pleasant aftertaste. Decidedly yummy, it will pair divinely with spicy cuisine, roasts and meat in sauces. Drinking well now, I think it will get even better over the next five to eight years. Order your unique and very delicious Moulin-à-Vent now.


The Château des Gimarets Sampler – 13.0% Alc./Vol.                    $33/$198 case of 6
What a great way to get to know the marvelous Moulin-à-Vent from Château des Gimarets. You get two bottles of each of our three featured wines – the 2012 Tradition, the 2010 ‘L’Esprit de ma Terre and 2010 Fût de Chêne.  Order your three very, very good Moulin-à-Vent now.


The LCBO is the only entity authorized to sell beverage alcohol in Ontario. Arthur Sellers & Company and Arthur’s Cellar Wine Club do not sell or markup beverage alcohol, but rather, arrange for customers to purchase it from the LCBO. Our prices indicated above and on our website include the LCBO sale price plus a fee to cover the cost of sourcing, handling and marketing the wine. The LCBO’s sale prices are available on request.


Coming Next from Arthur’s Cellar … To Be Determined!

Our partners at the LCBO are making our life interesting once again! They are in the protracted process of introducing a new automated system and, along with it, a number of challenges that materially affect the way our wineries and we will do business with them. Thus, unfortunately, we are once again obliged to suspend operations until such time as we have a full understanding of what is in store for us and have had a chance to develop a viable way of continuing. As with several similar episodes over the past ten years, we are confident that we will find a way to overcome these latest hurdles. We will provide additional details in a subsequent bulletin. In the meantime, thank you for your understanding and patience.      


We would be perfectly pleased if you would pass this note on to others you think might enjoy some excellent Moulin-à-Vent from a top notch producer.

Many thanks and cheers!

Jim, Hélène and Kate
www.arthursellers.com
jaswalker@arthursellers.com
www.ofrance.ca
hbuisson@ofrance.ca
kwalker@arthursellers.com