Deep ruby. Explosive, oak-spice- and mineral-accented aromas of red and dark berry liqueur, incense and vanilla pick up cola and earthy rhubarb notes with aeration. Sweet and deeply concentrated but almost shockingly lively and focused on the palate, offering intense raspberry preserve, cherry cola, spicecake and floral pastille flavors and a bracing jolt of minerality on the back half. Finishes smooth, sweet and extremely long, with resonating floral and spice notes and velvety tannins that come in slowly to add shape and gentle grip.

The 2015 Moulin A Vent Champs de Cour comes from granitic soils and is 35% aged in oak using the same percentage of new wood over 12 months. It offers lovely brambly red berry fruit on the nose, crisp and well defined with hints of rose petal. The palate is well balanced with supple, ripe tannin, well judged acidity and neatly integrated oak. There is just a hint of salted licorice that lends complexity to the finish. I love the mouthfeel here, with a touch of graininess towards the finish that lingers long in the mouth.

This vineyard is at the bottom of the hill, in deep, clay-rich soils. When Patricio Tapia, our critic for Spain, tasted this wine, the bloody, earthy, flowery Beaujolais led him to remark, “Sometimes I get confused between mencía and gamay.” And this does have surprising intensity for a gamay, concentrated in its black-skinned blueberry flavors and bitter jasmine florals. It needs cellar time to rest and relax.

From a parcel within one of the top vineyards in Moulin-à-Vent, this wine has weight and spiciness from the wood aging. Its tannins, still young, give both structure and emphasize the richness of the fruit. It provides a fine example of the aging ability of great Beaujolais and will probably not be ready until 2020.