Moulin A Vent 2020

This is also notably ripe while remaining agreeably fresh with its nose of pepper, earth and black cherry coulis. There is outstanding richness to the concentrated, suave and sappy medium weight flavors that contrast with the firm, serious, rustic and built-to-age finish. This robust effort will need time to round off the raspy tannins. The iconoclastic Philippe Pacalet, who is the nephew of the late Marcel Lapierre and who was for years the régisseur (estate manager) for the now-deceased Henri Roch of Domaine Prieuré-Roch, started his own négociant operation in 2001. He moved operations from Gevrey to Nuits and now to Beaune and has installed himself in the old de Montille cellars near the railroad station, which I might add are ice cold. He briefly noted that 2020 "was a very hot and especially dry vintage that began exceptionally early and is one of the earliest starts ever. There was actually a very large fruit set but when we got to the harvest, the dehydration was significant so there was just no juice in the berries. We began picking on the 23rd of August with the Bressandes, followed by the Côte de Beaune reds, then our whites, and then the Côte de Nuits reds. Volumes were moderately low at around 30 hl/ha for the Côte de Beaune reds and only 25 hl/ha for the Côte de Nuits reds. Potential alcohols were not especially high as both colors came in right at 13%, give or take a few tenths of a degree. I used 100% whole clusters for the reds but did exactly two punch downs during the entire cuvaison as it was obvious from the beginning that the reds would have plenty of structure without any help from me. The wines have changed radically since they were barreled down and I'm encouraged by the fact that they continue to improve month by month. I am in no hurry to bottle other than to pay close attention and they will let me know when they're ready to be bottled. But I am definitely enthusiastic about their potential." Pacalet also noted that the wines will be bottled without fining or filtration and it's interesting to note that he is one of the few remaining domaines that still do the mise (bottling) by hand.

Score: 90 - 92

Allen Meadows, Burghound Maturity: 2030+ 10 April 2022