Domaine de Boischampt Saint-Amour Tete de Bonnet

Description

Domaine de Boischampt Saint-Amour Tete de Bonnet is a red Beaujolais wine made with grapes from the Saint-Amour 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 it also has a very long history – the estate was founded in 1642. Under new ownership in 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 and 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 production, the new ownership also decided to 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 Saint-Amour Tete de Bonnet are sourced from the most northerly of the Beaujolais Crus. The grapes come from a 68 acre vineyard planted on deep, highly weathered granite soils and the east-facing vines have an age of at least 50 years old. The grapes are manually harvested into small 15kg crates at optimal maturity. After fermentation, the wines were casked in early October and matured in barrels for 12 months.

This Saint-Amour sits at the crossroads of Beaujolais finesse and Burgundian power, offering a beautiful balance of vibrant fruit and ageing potential.