Domaine de la Chapelle Oubliée, Muscat Beaumes de Venise Cru, 2018

White
2018
Sweet
France
15%
Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains 100%

This Cru wine is golden in colour, with a nose of flowers and tropical fruits, and has a long finish. Though typically drunk young, the wines often acquire wonderful toffee aromas and flavours with age which match well with cheeses and deserts, or as a digestive on its own.

The Dentelles de Montmirail hills protect the terrace vineyards of Domaine de la Chapelle Oubliée from the mistral winds. Facing East-South-East, they receive optimum exposure to the sun and guarantee uniform maturity.

The grapes are harvested by hand in 30kg crates, selected manually on sorting tables and are then de-stemmed. Skin maceration follows at low temperature (3 °). The wine is pressed and let to settle cold, to start fermentation at low temperatures.

The Beaumes-de-Venise Cru is produced from Muscat à Petits Grains with a fortification of the wine through an addition of 5 to 10% of virtually pure alcohol that arrests the fermentation, thus leaving a small amount of residual sugar. The wines must contain at least 100g/L of sugar and feature at least 15% alcohol content.

A lesser known detail...

The domaine prefers cold skin maceration prior to fermentation to extract brighter colour and flavours from the grapes. A more complex wine, with increased aromatic and colour intensity is the result of this technique.

About Domaine de la Chapelle Oubliée

Chapelle Oubliée was founded in 2019 following the acquisition of decades old Muscat vineyards in Beaumes-de-Venise. Subsequently, vineyards in the Côtes du Rhône Villages of Seguret were added. The domaine takes its name from the old Chapelle Notre Dame d'Aubusson that was built in 1771 and - hard to reach and almost forgotten - overlooks some of the vineyards producing the Domaine's red varietals.

Clay limestone dominates the parcels which are all under careful mechanical weed control.

Chapelle Oubliée produces four types of wine:

Beaumes-de-Venise Cru, a natural sweet wine from the cru appellation of the same name
Lieu Dit "Trois Évêques", a dry Muscat wine
Côtes du Rhône Villages Seguret, a classic Southern Rhone Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre blend
M Brut, a sparkling wine produced under the methode traditionelle and classed as Vin de Mousseux de Quality (MDQ)

Grape variety

Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains

Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains is known by many names worldwide, including Muscat Blanc (white Muscat) in France and the United States), Muscat Canelli in the United States, Moscato Bianco (white Moscato) in Italy, Muscat Frontignan in South Africa, Moschato in Greece, Brown Muscat in Australia, Muskateller in Germany and Austria, Muscat de Grano Menudo in Spain, and Muscat de Frontignan and Muscat Lunel in France. While the "petits grains" in the grape's name accurately describes the small, round berries of the vine, some wine experts, such as Oz Clarke, believe that the term "Muscat Blanc" is misleading, since the grapevine is notorious for its frequent colour mutations siring clusters of berries in nearly every shade possible though most commonly the grape berries are a deep yellow after veraison. In some vineyards, vines of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains are known to produce clusters of berries of different colours that change every vintage.

The precise origins of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains are not known, though Greece and Italy can both make compelling cases due to the proliferation of clones, mutations and offspring. Today, the grape is found throughout the wine-producing world, making a wide range of wine, from light, sweet sparkling and semi-sparkling Asti and Moscato d'Asti wine in the Piedmont wine region of Italy and Clairette de Die region of France, fortified vin doux naturels (VdN) in southern France in AOC regions such as Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois and Muscat de Frontignan, fortified Liqueur Muscat in the Victoria wine region of Rutherglen in Australia, to dry wines in the Wachau wine of Austria and Südsteiermark.

Nearly all the most notable sweet Muscats of Greece, particularly those from the island of Samos and the city of Patras on the Peloponnese are made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. In the history of South African wine, the famous dessert wine of Constantia was made from this variety of Muscat and while today Muscat of Alexandria is more widely planted in South Africa, producers around Constantia are trying to reclaim some of the region's viticultural acclaim by replanting more Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and making wines in the style of the original Constantia.

Alternative Names: Moscato Bianco, Muscat Blanc, White Muscat, Moscatel de Grano Menudo, Moschato Aspro, Muscatel Galego, Muskateller, Gelber Muskateller, Muscat Canelli, Moscato di Canelli, Moscadello, Muscadel, Muscat de Lunel, Muscat d’Alsace, Muscat de Frontignan, Frontignac, Brown Muscat, Rutherglen Muscat, Sarga Muskatoly, Tamianka, Tamjanika, Tamaioasa Romaneasca

About Muscat de Beaumes de Venise

Muscat (de) Beaumes-de-Venise wines are sweet, fortified Muscat based wines from the village of Beaumes-de-Venise, in France's Rhône Valley. They are made entirely from Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains and its Muscat Noir colour mutation.

Sweet wines have been made here since the 14th century. They were granted their own controlled appellation in 1945. The village's red wines are sold under the Beaumes-de-Venise appellation, created for them in 2005.

The wines are created through the traditional process of mutage, to produce a vin doux naturel. The latter term means "naturally sweet wine", which seems rather odd, even if the sugar itself is not added.

The Muscat grapes are picked in whole bunches in several passes to ensure optimum ripeness. The harvested fruit must have a sugar level of 252 grams per litre or more

Grape spirit (at a minimum of 96 percent pure) is added to the partially fermented grape must. This kills the yeasts and stops the fermentation. It in turn results in a high level of residual sugar - at least 100 grams per litre must be achieved in the finished wine. Alcohol content must be a minimum of 15 percent by volume.

The finished wines are pale gold when young, with delicate vegetal notes and hints of tropical fruits. With age, they develop a rich golden hue and acquire more prominent flavours of honey, dried apricot and raisins. These wines were extremely popular in late 20th century Europe, rivalling the more expensive sweet wines of Bordeaux.

Beaumes-de-Venise is just south of the Gigondas appellation and east of Vacqueyras. The three villages are separated by a 500 meter (1,650ft) outcrop of limestone, part of the jagged Dentelles de Montmirail foothills. It is on the slopes of this outcrop that some of the better Beaumes-de-Venise vineyards are found. Facing south and southeast, these benefit from excellent exposure to sunlight throughout the day, encouraging maximum phenolic ripeness in the grapes.

On the lower lying land below, the soils are alluvial and the vineyards produce less-intense, more delicate styles of wine, unaffected by the intense sunlight of the slopes. The best sites are in areas with limestone soils, with a high proportion of stones to help drainage.

Regular price $49.00

Unit price per

Bottle Size

75cl

Case Size

Bottle

Case of 6

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