Domaine Anita Moulin-à-Vent TRès vieilles vignes les caves 2019 – sustainable/mostly organic/natural
Domaine Anita is named after Anita Kuhnel who has been making wine under the Domaine Anita since 2015. Today, Domaine Anita includes some of the most prestigious crus of Beaujolais including Moulin à Vent, Morgon, Chénas, Fleurie, as well as some plots located on great terroirs of the Beaujolais-Villages appellation. Anita’s viticultural practices are specific to each plot, but always within her overarching philosophy of sustainable viticulture, with minimal treatments, green harvesting, and strong canopy management.
Anita Kuhnel makes the most site-specific, highest-rated wines in Beaujolais right now. Anita was born and raised in the French Bresse (cult chicken country!), not very far from Beaujolais. Not being from a wine family, nothing predestined Anita to become a vintner. Her first passion in life was actually cycling, which she practiced professionally. This cycling world is where she met her husband in 1996, and she began working with him at the age of eighteen within the one-hectare family estate in Morgon; Anita quickly got the wine bug and for fifteen years, she and her husband catapulted their small plot in Morgon to one of the most elite and sought after in the appellation.
In 2015 Anita’s and her husband’s paths diverged, and she founded her own estate under her own name. With the acquisition of new vineyards and several long term contracts, Anita is now cultivating 18 hectares of vines on the most prestigious crus of Beaujolais including Moulin à Vent, Morgon, Chénas, Fleurie, including plots in many of the most prestigious Lieux Dits within these appellations: Les Caves and Rochelle in Moulin à Vent, Moriers and Poncié in Fleurie, Chateau-Gaillard in Morgon, Les Brureaux in Chénas. With an almost Cistercian approach in the vineyard (one plot/lieux dit = one cuvée), Anita is working towards the truthful expression of these unique terroirs in a way previously unheard of in the region.
“I am committed to putting all my energy into making the best wines every day,” Anita declares. “This is why I chose to opt for plot cultivation, which allows each bottle to reflect the character of each plot. I call it, “Making the plots talk.” In the cellar, Anita is assisted by Guy Marion, former head of winemaking at Georges Duboeuf with no less than 52 harvests in Beaujolais. Together they strive to produce terroir-driven wines of the highest quality.
Located in the village of Chenas over Lieu dit les Caves with Granite and Manganese soils and a South/East exposure. Grown at high altitude, the Gamay vineyard is 90 years old and the planting is extremely dense to encourage plant competition for growth. The vineyard is harvested and sorted manually. Vinification is 100% whole clusters.
As traditionally in Beaujolais, the fermentation is made with full cluster, however depending on the cuvée in question Anita will bring a proportion of destemmed grapes into the tanks to improve the contact between the juice and the skin and allow a better diffusion of aromatic compounds.
As is a fairly new (and growing) approach with old vine Gamay on Cru sites in Beaujolais, Anita’s wines are made using the Burgundian Technique rather than via Semicarbonic Maceration. For an excellent breakdown of this by Roger Voss, click here – It is a very clear and concise look at the subject.
The purple color announces aromas of very ripe black fruits and intensely spicy notes. Its material envelops the palate. Its generosity and richness, combined with a rounded finish, sublimate it. Heady tannins will give this historic vintage a long aging potential. This cuvée is made from a small plot of very old vines (some over 100-years-old) located on pink granitic soils. The nose is compact, showing dense hints of dark fruits, flowers and minerals. On the palate you’ll get a solid, almost vertical structure, driven by elegant acidity. Great purity here, and a long mineral finish.
93 points, Wine Enthusiast The mineral texture of this wine, produced from 80-year-old vines, shows its power and concentration. Black-plum-skin flavors, a rich structure and good acidity give a wine that will age well. Drink from 2022.
93 points, Decanter: Fragrant nose of ripe perfumed fruit with a smoky character. Very interesting palate with soft enveloping fruit and fresh acidity.