Domaine de Boischampt Julienas

Description

Domaine de Boischampt Julienas is an organic red Beaujolais wine made with grapes from the Julienas Cru of Beaujolais. As with all Cru Beaujolais, it is made from 100% Gamay grapes.

Domaine de Boischampt is a Beaujolais property to watch but which also has a very long history – the estate was founded in 1642. Under new ownership since 2018, the new owners began transforming the Domaine and the days of producing bulk red wine were stopped. The is owned by Burgundian Antoine Romero his partners, Yuko Matsuoka Harris and Bob Harris, an Australian-Japanese couple. Romero manages the estate and the winemaker is Thibaud Baudin. Baudin, who has worked at both Domaine de la Vougeraie and Domaine d’Henri (Chablis), set about replanting the vineyards. The estate also began its organic conversion in 2019 and was certified organic in 2023.

In 2018 the estate only produced wines from two appellations Julienas and Beaujolais Villages rouge) but new plots were soon acquired and today the estate produces several wines from different Beaujolais appellations including Julienas, Fleurie, Saint Amour, Chenas and Morgon.

The estate is located in the hillside village of Jullié and comprises 14 hectares of vineyards. The vines are planted on blue stone soils which are characteristic of Juliénas and the same as the solid in the famous Côte du Py in Morgon. Rather unusually for a wine region dominated by red wine productions, the new ownership decided to also plant 3 hectares of Chardonnay. As well as this wine, they also produce three other Julienas cuvées: Les 4 Cerisiers, Beauvernay and Vayolette.

The Gamay grapes for the Domaine de Boischampt Julienas come from a vineyard plot located on the granitic foothills of Haut Beaujolais. This high vineyard is situated on a steep incline (between 20% to 45%) with a south-western exposure and the blue stone soils here are poor, which is great for good quality wines.

The grapes are manually harvested into small 15kg crates at optimal maturity. Whole bunches are vinified and aged in “cuve beton” (concrete tanks) for 12 months prior to bottling.

No sulphur is added. Certified Organic.

What is Julienas?

Julienas is one of the 10 Crus (growths). It is the most northerly of the Beaujolais cru and the vineyards are centered around the village of Julienas, thought to be named after Julius Caesar. It is considered one of the region’s more full-bodied and age-worthy wines (along with Moulin A Vent, Morgon and Chenas). The wines are noted for their richness and spice with aromas reminiscent of peonies.