“This remains one of my absolutely favorite examples of Côte de Brouilly in the appellation and the wine deserves to be even better known.”
-John Gilman, View From the Cellar
Since 2009, every vintage of Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes “Cuvée des Ambassades” has received amazing press from the folks at Vinous, and we expect 2022 to be no different. While we’re still waiting for the official score to be released, let us tell you what we know in the meantime:
Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes has the highest-elevation vineyard sites in Brouilly
Roughly 60% of their vines are over 40 years old
The old vine fruit is used to make the annual Cuvée des Ambassades, described by Vinous as “one of the most delicate and precise wines in Beaujolais”
The wine is made with whole clusters and carbonic maceration, fermented in concrete tanks, and aged in old oak foudres without filtration
Beaujolais, unlike its Burgundian cousin, is made from Gamay rather than Pinot Noir, and serious cru Beaujolais like the Pavillon de Chavannes has finally shed the “nouveau” moniker that kept older generations from discovering it. Dark, sumptuous, fleshy, and more brooding than its Pinot Noir relatives, French wine fans have been gravitating towards Brouilly for the better part of a decade, making the wines harder and harder to secure.
The takeaway is this: Cru Beaujolais is being appreciated outside Burgundy like never before, the quality has never been better, and the prices are still incredibly reasonable!
Beaujolais is also one of France’s most historic wines, with the Romans having cultivated vines on Mont Brouilly’s steep slopes where Domaine du Pavillon de Chavanne’s vineyards sit today.
While the word is still out on the 2022’s rating, why wait until the wine gets another rave review and then promptly sells out? At Mission, we want you to get in now while the wine is still available! For $21.99, there are few French reds that deliver this much quality for this low of a price, year after year after year.
2022 Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes “Cuvée des Ambassades” $21.99
This is a very old school Beaujolais in the best sense: beautiful garnet color, beguiling aromatics, and a burst of refreshment in the mouth—and that burst is a savory, mineral, toothsome thing because of the domaine’s high elevations and because of Brouilly’s meager volcanic soils that provide depth of flavor. Some crus emphasize soil notes, others give fruit, but only good Côte de Brouilly gives stone in the flavor. Blackberries, cherries, and cassis permeate every inch of the palate with violets on the finish.