Château Thivin, Côte de Brouilly, Beaujolais, France, 2020

Overview of the Wine
Wine lovers who experience is limited to Noveau owe it to themselves to try the other side of Beaujolais, the hillside Beaujolais, where the soils are more granite and the terrain more rugged. The name Beaujolais may not be present of the label; instead one will find the village name, such as Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Morgan or Fleurie.

Chateau Thivin is located in the Cote de Brouilly, an ancient volcanic mound which juts unexpectedly from the Beaujeu Valley floor, about 30 miles north of Lyon.

In the heart of Cote de Brouilly, on the south-facing, crumbling granite slopes, Claude Geoffray at Chateau Thivin works twenty acres of vines. The vineyards are planted entirely to Gamay Noir a jus blanc, a variety of Gamay that is cultivated to stand free of wires and stakes, sturdily attached to the hillside by deep-seeking roots.

At Chateau Thivin, each section of the vineyard is harvested and fermented separately, to preserve the characteristic differences afforded by variations in exposure and altitude. The final wine is a selected blend of these cuvees. Traditional whole cluster fermentation is used in order to keep the characteristic fruity qualities of Gamay, after which the grapes are put into cuve by gravity without being crushed or destemmed. Each vintage spends a few months in large oak foudres before bottling.

Grape / Blend
Gamay Noir

Origin
Beaujolais, Burgundy, France

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The Gamay here is laced with a vibrant streak of gunflint, intensified by Thivin’s wealth of century-old vines that burrow deep into the bedrock. Coating this dense, firm mineral core is an abundance of sumptuous fruit hinting at cassis, blueberry, violets, plum, and blackberry.

93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Côte de Brouilly is already very expressive, bursting with aromas of ripe berry fruit, plums and cherries mingled with hints of raw cocoa and spices. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's rich and fleshy, with powdery tannins, lively acids and a sapid finish. In style, this is more muscular than the more elegant 2019, but both represent benchmarks for Beaujolais in their respective vintages.


Product size: 750ml