Trénel Beaujolais-Villages 2022 (France) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is a lovely Gamay from Beaujolais that arrived at the LCBO last month in the September 21 LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection.

It is produced by Maison Trénel, a winery that was created in Burgundy in 1928 by Henri Claudius Trénel. Since the beginning, Maison Trénel's philosophy has been driven by the search for authenticity in their wines, as well as their fruit-liqueurs. To create their products, Trénel chooses the best terroirs in Burgundy and Beaujolais as the source of their fruit. With Burgundy tradition the cornerstone of Maison Trénel, the taste of authenticity has been present since its founding.

Today, Maison Trénel is renowned for its wines, specifically from the Beaujolais and Mâconnais areas. Trénel has also become a local reference as the winery was passed down from Henri Claudius to his son, André, and remains a familial authentic company, a philosophy that shared with the famous Maison M. Chapoutier, with whom they collaborate with today.

Trénel is dedicated to crafting high-quality wines that reflect the unique terroirs from across Beaujolais and Burgundy. While embracing sustainable vineyard practices, Trénel uses traditional winemaking methods and focuses on minimal intervention during the vinification process to allow the wines to express the specific terroir, climate, and geology of each area.

This red wine is crafted with 100% Gamay from the Beaujolais Villages AOP. There are 38 Villages that make up the Beaujolais Villages AOP, which produce wines of distinction and character. Most of the grapes in this red wine come from the areas of Le Perréon and Clochermerle, in the south of the AOP. These regions' undulating landscapes are perfectly suited to Gamay Noir. The Gamay used to craft this wine are from 30 to 60 year old vines which are planted facing southeast, on silty clay granite soil. After hand-harvesting the grapes, they underwent an 8-10 day maceration, 30% of which were destemmed. After fermentation, the wine was aged for 6 months in concrete tank, and then bottled without fining, but a light filtration.

The 2022 growing season in Beaujolais began with a cold January and a mild February. This was followed by cool weather in March, which helped prevent frost damage in April, while the rest of April and May was warm and dry, leading to an even and successful flowering. Violent summer storms, which often come to this continental zone, arrived at the end of June and caused some hail damage. The summer months of July and August were fiercely sunny and warm, leading to some drought losses and lowered yields during harvest. However, the quality of the grapes was outstanding, leading to aromatic and intense wines with fine balance, sap, and poise, especially from those grown in clay and granite soils. Let's see how this 2022 Beaujolais-Villages Gamay is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

TRÉNEL BEAUJOLAIS-VILLAGES 2022 - AP, France (#487140) (XD) - $19.95
100% Gamay. The open, medium+ to medium-high intensity nose is spicy with savoury earth aromas layered over ripe black fruits, black cherry, plus touches of cassis, floral, cranberry that emerge with time in the glass. On the dry, mid-weighted palate it is ripe with black cherry, cassis, spice, earth flavours with touches of cranberry. It has crisp, clean, and fresh acidity, along with supple, slightly grippy tannins. Pleasing mineral notes join the dark cherry, earth, and spice flavours on the finish, with very good length. This shows better balance with time in the glass and will be better in 6 to 12 months. Recommended buy! Score: 89 pts

Other delicious wines by Maison Trenel can be ordered through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.