Moulin-à-Vent is the most celebrated of Beaujolais's ten Crus, named for a seventeenth-century windmill in Romanèche-Thorins that overlooks the appellation's granite and manganese-rich soils. The high manganese content in the soil is believed to contribute to the unusual tannic structure of Moulin-à-Vent's Gamay — a depth and firmness that allows these wines to age for five to fifteen years, developing Pinot Noir-like complexity with notes of rose, red cherry, truffle and iron. Moulin-à-Vent is unique among Beaujolais Crus in that it is the only one explicitly referred to as 'the king of Beaujolais' — its wines being the furthest from the region's light, carbonic-maceration style, offering instead a serious, structured red capable of genuine evolution. The windmill itself has been a regional landmark since the 1700s.
| Year | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | — | Excellent Beaujolais Cru vintage; concentrated, structured Moulin-à-Vent with genuine tannic depth and ageing potential. |
| 2021 | — | Good season despite frost; wines of finesse and red-fruit clarity with good mineral character. |
| 2020 | — | Landmark vintage for Beaujolais Crus — powerful, concentrated wines with the structure to evolve for a decade-plus. |
| 2019 | — | Classic vintage; well-structured Gamay with good fruit and mineral backbone. |
| 2018 | — | Warm, generous vintage; approachable wines with early appeal and good underlying structure. |