Les Mouilles (lay moo-EE) is one of the most famous vineyards in one of the most famous communes of Beaujolais, Juliénas (ZHU-lyen-ah). Laurent Perrachon is the fifth generation of the Perrachon family to shepherd the family domaine based in Juliénas, and he is training his sons to be the sixth, but the history of the family in the area’s wine business goes much farther back with documentation first appearing in 1601. The family, therefore, can remember when wines from the best vineyards of Beaujolais sold for more than those from what are now very famous vineyards in Burgundy. That’s a bummer for the Perrachon family but a boon for the well informed wine consumer and Domaine Perrachon is a wine industry favorite due to its collection of classic vineyards and crus (the ten best-known communes in Beaujolais are known as the crus) that are farmed organically and vinified traditionally. Semi-Carbonic fermentation, where varying percentages of whole clusters and juice are placed together into a closed top fermenter so that the uncrushed grapes are completely surrounded and permeated by the CO2 given off by the fermenting juice, thereby initiating a chemical transformation of sugar into alcohol inside the grape, resulting in, for too many reasons to get into here, some degree of lower alcohol, tannins and acidity as well as a lighter color and an exuberant collection of candied red fruit and banana, is traditional in Beaujolais. The ultimate example of the flavors we’re talking about is Beaujolais Nouveau, and while that is a fun wine to drink occasionally, one could make incredibly similar tasting wines from any red grape grown anywhere in the world: Beaujolais Nouveau is a process-driven wine. When you are working with the finest grapes from the Crus, however, the emphasis is on the terroir so a much higher percentage of the grapes are crushed and fermented “normally” with a long fermentation with the skins. This wine uses about 50% whole clusters, and ages in a combination of concrete vats and oak casks that keeps the focus on the flavors Juliénas is known for, deep red fresh cherry and fresh red fruits (not candied) with violets and a touch of allspice, on a more muscular than average Beaujolais tannic structure that can easily be paired with poultry and even grilled fish!