Smith-Chapel Julienas Vayolette 2022

If ever there was a story to tell about a Domaine then this is it. David was born into high-end gastronomy, his father being the great Alain Chapel—patriarch of the nouvelle cuisine movement in France. Michele ran the wine program for various starred restaurants in New York. They met in Beaujolais when Michele was visiting producers and the rest is history. Domaine Chapel have recently introduced the Smith-Chapel wines and are made using fruit sourced from high altitude parcels on the slopes of Beaujolais and the nearby Maconnais region.  

We introduced Domaine Chapel to our portfolio with the Julienas, which saw its final vintage being produced in 2018. The wine quickly gained cult status and whilst we are sad to see it go, we are so excited to represent the Fleurie, Chiroubles, Moulin-a Vent, and Aligoté. Michele and David have spent thousands of hours over the last year working the land on these sites and the resulting wines are quite remarkable. 

David and Michele started farming three plots in two different crus of Beaujolais: Chiroubles (Saint-Roch and Poullet) and Fleurie (Charbonnières) in January 2018. Sitting at 400m and 460m respectively the subsequent work they’ve done has been organic and by hand with only a cable plough and garden hoe. 

At last! A return to Julienas for the Smith-Chapels, this time from a 4ha vineyard on the limit of Julienas with blue stones and granite.

All winemaking is very low extraction, with carbonic maceration, no pigeage, and no punching down: just keeping the cap wet. The style here is really elegant, and as Chapel gains more experience and makes more wine, this will be a Domaine to watch.