*2018 - RP 95

The 2018 Moulin-a-Vent Les Styx unwinds in the glass with aromas of raspberries, blackberries and plums mingled with hints of warm spices, dark chocolate and rose hips. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and complete, it's layered and concentrated, with lively acids and beautifully refined tannins. This is one of the most elegant, integrated wines in the range this year.

"The 2018s are impossible to taste," declared the inimitable Fabien Duperray as we sat down to sample his 2018 portfolio. Concentrated and structured, with remarkably low pHs, neither their elevage in glass nor the most meticulous of bottling practices and high-quality corks does anything to artificially soften or render more immediately approachable wines that are naturally tightly wound and built for the long-haul. Yet despite the wines' comparative inscrutability in a region where ephemeral charm is more common than seriousness of intent, it's easy to see how good these 2018s are. As I've written before, Duperray is crafting singular wines that exist in a context that's entirely their own, and if they fulfill all their youthful promise with bottle age - as I believe they will - there's no doubt that they will change how the Beaujolais is perceived forever.