# Château des Jacques Moulin-à-Vent "Champ de Cour" (2024)

- **Producer:** Château des Jacques
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Gamay
- **Region:** Beaujolais, France
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 13.5%
- **Average price:** €25
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 15–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** raspberry, plum, cherry, redcurrant, herbaceous, vanilla, toast, cedar, forest floor, mushroom

## About this wine

Château des Jacques, located in Romanèche-Thorins, has been owned and managed by the historic Burgundy house Maison Louis Jadot since 1996. The estate is widely recognized as a pioneer in elevating the status of Cru Beaujolais by applying traditional Burgundian viticultural and winemaking philosophies. The "Champ de Cour" climat is a historically walled 5.8-hectare vineyard situated at the base of the slope just below the famous 16th-century Moulin-à-Vent windmill. The soils here are unique, featuring decomposed pink granite sands enriched with clay, silt, and ancient alluvial sediments. This clay-heavy composition yields a more robust, structured, and muscular expression of Gamay compared to the lighter, sandier plots of the appellation, often drawing comparisons to the fine Pinot Noirs of the Côte de Nuits as it ages.

## Interesting facts

- Château des Jacques was purchased by Maison Louis Jadot in 1996, pioneering Burgundian-style winemaking in Beaujolais.
- The Champ de Cour vineyard lies directly in the shadow of the historic 16th-century stone windmill that gives the appellation its name.
- Unlike sandier plots, Champ de Cour's clay-rich soils produce a muscular Gamay that ages gracefully like a Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir.

## Food pairing

This structured Cru Beaujolais bridges the gap between light red wines and heavier, more tannic options. Its high acidity cuts beautifully through rich, fatty meats like duck and beef, while its moderate, fine-grained tannins harmonize with savory, earthy dishes. The clay-driven weight of the "Champ de Cour" terroir allows it to stand up to robust sauces, while the bright Gamay fruit complements sweet-and-savory elements like cherry reductions or roasted root vegetables.

## Wine making process

The winemaking for the "Champ de Cour" bottling reflects a meticulous, Burgundian-inspired approach. Grapes are hand-harvested from vines averaging 30 to 60 years of age and rigorously sorted on vibrating tables. The fruit is predominantly destemmed to prevent the extraction of green, rustic tannins. Fermentation is carried out using only native, ambient yeasts in closed vats. Maceration is long and slow, lasting between three to four weeks, with vintage-adapted cap management techniques such as punching down (pigeage) and pumping over (remontage). The wine is then aged for approximately 10 months in the estate's historic 17th-century cellars, utilizing a combination of concrete tanks and French oak barrels sourced from the Allier, Limousin, and Nivernais forests, including a portion of new oak.