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2022 Côte de Brouilly “Cuvée Zaccharie”
Château ThivinThe most special of the family’s Côte de Brouilly bottlings, this cuvée is made from ancient vines (some up to one hundred years old) from their most prized parcels, La Chapelle and Godefroy. Raised in barrel as their ancestor Zaccharie Geoffray would have done, it then undergoes a further barrel selection before blending. Symbolically, it’s raised in the oldest part of the cellar: the dungeon-like underbelly of the château that’s draped in cobwebs and where unlabeled bottles of mysterious vintages live quietly, undisturbed. This is a true homage cuvée, with an old-fashioned soul and vibrant energy.
—Jane Augustine
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2022 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay Noir |
Appellation: | Beaujolais |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Château Thivin |
Winemaker: | Claude Geoffray |
Vineyard: | 40 - 90 years, 1 ha |
Soil: | Clay and volcanic rock (composed of Diorite and Porphyry) |
Aging: | Ages for 1-5 years in 228-L oak barrels, of which only 10% is new oak |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 14% |
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For lovers of old-fashioned Beaujolais in all its elegant, high-toned, terroir-driven glory.
About The Producer
Château Thivin
It is no surprise that Château Thivin is the benchmark domaine of the Côte de Brouilly; everything about it is exceptional. Built in the fifteenth century on an ancient volcano which juts out steeply into the valley below, Thivin is the oldest estate on Mont Brouilly, In 1976, Richard Olney took Kermit to visit on their first wine trip together. It was Olney’s top recommendation in the whole of the Beaujolais region. The current generation of the Geoffray family continues their tradition. Today their grandnephew Claude, his wife Evelyne, and their son Claude-Edouard continue the tradition as staunch and proud defenders of the terroir of the Côte de Brouilly.
About The Region
Beaujolais
After years of the region’s reputation being co-opted by mass-produced Beaujolais Nouveau and the prevalence of industrial farming, the fortunes of vignerons from the Beaujolais have been on the rise in the past couple of decades. Much of this change is due to Jules Chauvet, a prominent Beaujolais producer who Kermit worked with in the 1980s and arguably the father of the natural wine movement, who advocated not using herbicides or pesticides in vineyards, not chaptalizing, fermenting with ambient yeasts, and vinifying without SO2. Chief among Chauvet’s followers was Marcel Lapierre and his three friends, Jean Foillard, Guy Breton, and Jean-Paul Thévenet—a group of Morgon producers who Kermit dubbed “the Gang of Four.” The espousal of Chauvet’s methods led to a dramatic change in quality of wines from Beaujolais and with that an increased interest and appreciation for the AOC crus, Villages, and regular Beaujolais bottlings.
The crus of Beaujolais are interpreted through the Gamay grape and each illuminate the variety of great terroirs available in the region. Distinguishing itself from the clay and limestone of Burgundy, Beaujolais soils are predominantly decomposed granite, with pockets of blue volcanic rock. The primary vinification method is carbonic maceration, where grapes are not crushed, but instead whole clusters are placed in a tank, thus allowing fermentation to take place inside each grape berry.
Much like the easy-going and friendly nature of many Beaujolais vignerons, the wines too have a lively and easy-drinking spirit. They are versatile at table but make particularly good matches with the local pork sausages and charcuterie. Though often considered a wine that must be drunk young, many of the top crus offer great aging potential.
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Vintage Chart Mentality
Vintage Chart Mentality
Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch