Moulin à Vent, Les Trois Roches 2021 - Domaines Chermette

Domaines Chermette

Authentic Beaujolais and Rhône wines

Present in the Beaujolais region since the 17th century, the Vissoux-Chermette family has been taking care of vineyards for generations. The family's love story with wine began in the 1870's, when Claude-Marie Vissoux built his own cellar in a small locality called "Le Vissoux", so he could store his wine production. His son, Pierre-Marie Vissoux, inherited the estate a few years later but he unfortunately died in combat in 1914. Left alone, his young widow had to take care of the entire business and make sure the lights stayed on. Faced with such a task, she was forced to put the estate on hold.

In 1947, Eugénie Vissoux, the daughter of Pierre-Marie, married Maurice Chermette. The newlyweds decided to resurrect Eugénie's family wine estate and planted a slew of new grapevines in the fallow fields. The wine they produced was sold to many wine sellers in the region and thus the Chermette name started to become a brand in itself. Maurice even won third place in a Beaujolais wine contest, in 1960.

Pierre-Marie Chermette, son of the Vissoux-Chermette couple, became the new manager of the family business in 1982. Although he was only 20 years old at the time, he had very specific things in mind. First of all, he wanted to sell his wine at the estate, cutting the middleman. Then, he did everything he could to get closer to nature, with a level of perfectionism that brought him to make highly-precise and impressive cuvées. 1986 was Pierre-Marie's coronation year, so to speak, as all the classiest bars and restaurants in Paris were now selling his wines.

Four years later, in 1990, Martine Chermette, Pierre-Marie's wife, quit her job at Boiron Laboratories and joined her winemaker of a husband full-time at the estate. With her love for everything natural, Martine was a very important influence on Pierre-Marie's work. That same year, the couple invested money in three new but quite old parcels of vineyard (Rochefolle, Plageret and Fagolet). Many other appellations would follow, such as Fleurie Poncié, Moulin à Vent Rochegrès, Fleurie les Garants, La Rochelle, Brouilly...

Pierre-Marie and Martine Chermette make wine that can truly let the vineyard express itself. That's the reason why their winemaking process is very reasoned and as non interventionist as possible. In 2013, husband and wife laid the groundwork for the Terra Vitis certification (which they obtained in 2019) followed by the HVE certification (for "High Environmental Value"). Their son Jean-Étienne Chermette is now working with his parents, since 2017. His name even figures in the new estate's moniker, which has gone from "Domaine du Vissoux" to "Domaines Chermette".

Browse the wines from the Domaines Chermette.