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2017 Beaujolais-Villages “Grandes Terres”
Quentin HarelFor those of you still unacquainted, Quentin Harel is the latest addition to our Beaujolais portfolio. His wines first caught our eyes—or rather, our noses—when I chanced upon a bottle of his Morgon, a perfumed little beauty that stood no chance after being uncorked at the family dinner table one summer evening. Around the same time, my colleague Dixon informed me he had tasted a particularly juicy, downable Beaujolais-Villages from a young grower. Upon comparing notes, we realized Quentin was the man behind both bottles. As it turned out, he had recently taken the reins of the family domaine and begun making Beaujolais just the way we like it: farmed organically, vinified naturally with whole clusters, and bottled with minimal added sulfur. The nose, the palate, and the price encourage unbridled quaffing.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2017 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Beaujolais Villages |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Quentin Harel |
Winemaker: | Quentin Harel |
Vineyard: | 7 to 70 years, 40 years average; 3 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | Aged 12 months in 70 hL cement tank and 20 hl enamel tank |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Production: | 4,000 cases |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2021 Morgon Tradition
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When you don’t know what your hosts are serving for dinner and they’re fun and friendly people, bring this juicy, silky, and minerally old-school Beaujolais and know you'll be invited back.
2023 Beaujolais Villages Rosé
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2020 Côte de Brouilly
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2021 Morgon “Charmes - Infusion”
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This classic, cool-weather vintage of Quentin Harel’s one hectare holding in Morgon spends three months macerating in concrete amphora. The result is a distinct softening of its crunchy, mineral-laced bramble.
2022 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
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April Club Gourmand ~ Soulful and savory, with notes of cherries, iron, and smoke, this is cru Beaujolais built to last.
2022 Régnié “En Voiture Simone”
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The high-toned nose suggests an absolutely electric wine, full of delicate florals and tart berries, and the juice hits the palate like a dreamy cloud of Gamay.
2022 Beaujolais
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This Beaujolais offers the drinkability of the most effusive Morgons with the frankness of a chiseled Moulin-à-Vent.
About The Producer
Quentin Harel
About The Region
Beaujolais
After years of the region’s reputation being co-opted by mass-produced Beaujolais Nouveau and the prevalence of industrial farming, the fortunes of vignerons from the Beaujolais have been on the rise in the past couple of decades. Much of this change is due to Jules Chauvet, a prominent Beaujolais producer who Kermit worked with in the 1980s and arguably the father of the natural wine movement, who advocated not using herbicides or pesticides in vineyards, not chaptalizing, fermenting with ambient yeasts, and vinifying without SO2. Chief among Chauvet’s followers was Marcel Lapierre and his three friends, Jean Foillard, Guy Breton, and Jean-Paul Thévenet—a group of Morgon producers who Kermit dubbed “the Gang of Four.” The espousal of Chauvet’s methods led to a dramatic change in quality of wines from Beaujolais and with that an increased interest and appreciation for the AOC crus, Villages, and regular Beaujolais bottlings.
The crus of Beaujolais are interpreted through the Gamay grape and each illuminate the variety of great terroirs available in the region. Distinguishing itself from the clay and limestone of Burgundy, Beaujolais soils are predominantly decomposed granite, with pockets of blue volcanic rock. The primary vinification method is carbonic maceration, where grapes are not crushed, but instead whole clusters are placed in a tank, thus allowing fermentation to take place inside each grape berry.
Much like the easy-going and friendly nature of many Beaujolais vignerons, the wines too have a lively and easy-drinking spirit. They are versatile at table but make particularly good matches with the local pork sausages and charcuterie. Though often considered a wine that must be drunk young, many of the top crus offer great aging potential.
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2022 Beaujolais Blanc “Clos de Rochebonne”
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2021 Brouilly “Reverdon”
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2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
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Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
If you're looking for value, look where no one else is looking.
Inspiring Thirst, page 211