Vineyards

History

Domaine Labruyere is one of the oldest wineries in the Moulin-a-Vent appellation.
In 1850, Jean-Marie Labruyere, wine grower, settled in les Thorins, a hamlet of Romanèche-Thorins. He acquired 25 acres of well-located vineyards.
Since then, several generations of Labruyere have been running the estate and have acquired the famous "Clos du Moulin-a-Vent", unique Monopole of the appellation. Located right by the iconic windmill, this is one of the most precious jewels of Domaine Labruyere.
In 2008, Edouard Labruyere took over the responsability of the Estate convinced that all plots are located on the best terroirs of the region. He impulsed Domaine Labruyere with a new dynamic, and it is today considered as one of the spearheads of Beaujolais region.
Team

Family winery for seven generations, Domaine Labruyere is, above all, a great human adventure. From Jean-Marie in 1850 to Edouard today, the Labruyere have been running these unique vineyards with the same passion, devotion and desire to pass on a great terroir to the next generations.
Les Thorins is the cradle of this entrepreneurial family, which values land and hard work.
Jean-Pierre Labruyere, who was President of Moulin-a-Vent Cru for a long time, left the direction of the estate to his son Edouard in 2008, with the vision that it would become a benchmark in Beaujolais region.
Step by step, Edouard Labruyere, together with Nadine Gublin (winemaker) and Michel Rovere (vineyard manager), are building an iconic winery.
Vineyards

Moulin-a-Vent Appellation
Officially acknowledged in 1936, this Appellation is considered as one of the most iconic of Beaujolais.
Its terroirs are among the most fascinating of the region with its granitic soils (including quartz) creating singular, rich and structured wines with strong ageing potential.
Gamay is the only red grape of the appellation. Grown on great terroirs and carefully vinified, it offers "haute-couture" wines both ready to drink and suitable for ageing. This is a naturally generous variety, which strives on these arid gratinic soils, especially when short-pruned ("gobelet") and planted in high density.
Single Vineyard Approach
Le Clos
Unique Monopole of the Appellation, this 2.3 acres vineyard is perfectly located down the windmill, symbol of the Cru. Based on a dry, hard, granitic soil, this unique terroir gives outstanding Gamay offering structured, mineral, long-lasting wines as iconic as the greatest French wines.

Le Carquelin
Our vineyard spans over 4.3 acres. This terroir with light, sandy clay and acidic soil, has low levels of organic matters and presents the typical pink color of the Cru. Its granite is very altered and medium deep. Le Carquelin is pure elegance

Champ de Cour
This granitic plot, south-east facing, has the peculiarity of showing pebbles under a thick layer of dense clay, which gives the wine a bold and mineral character and a significant ageing potential.
Winemaking

Harvest is carried out manually using small 15kg crates in order to preserve grapes quality. Every year harvests start date is carefully chosen according to sugar and acidity levels. Grapes then go through a double sorting table in order to keep the best fruits only, before being 100% destemmed.
After passing through a double sorting table, grapes are de-stemmed, then stored in concrete tanks via an elevator conveyor to preserve their integrity. They undergo a cold maceration for about three days in order to extract fine and silky tannins. Alcoholic fermentation is carried out in tanks using pumping over and cap punching throughout the process, before completing a post-fermentation maceration of about eight days.
Since the 2014 vintage Champ de Cour terroir has been vinified in whole clusters.
Winemaking process is performed in 50 hl concrete vats. The entire system is thermo-regulated.
The wines are aged in oak barrels (new and used) for a period lasting between 16 and 20 months depending on the vintage. Afterwards, they are transferred back into vats for airing before bottling.
This rather long ageing period for Beaujolais provides elegant and complex wines, where the wood helps increase the ageing potential without hiding the singularity of the terroir.

History

Team

Moulin-a-Vent Appellation

Single Vineyard Approach

Winemaking

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