Chateau Thivin Brouilly Reverdon Beaujolais 2018 (750ml)

 

Rated 92 Points by James Suckling

 

A vivid, pure gamay with plenty of fruit and orange peel.  Some minerality.  Intensely fruity.  Medium to full body.  Tangy acidity with clear, sweet-and-sour fruit.  Crisp.  Drink now.

 

Rated 91 Points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 

Richer, more voluptuous and larger-scaled than its 2017 counterpart, the 2018 Brouilly Reverdon unfurls with a ripe bouquet of mulberries, blackberries and licorice.  On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with broad shoulders and a generous, expressive profile.

 

Ranked #86 Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2020

 

Very beautiful red cherry color, floral and fruity nose, round mouth on the fresh fruits of the garden; supported by soft tannins.

 

Rated 91 Points by Wine Spectator

 

Lively acidity cuts through the bright cherry and currant notes of this mouthwatering red, showing details of white pepper, wet stone and dried herb that dovetail onto the finish.  Offers light, integrated tannins, with great energy and focus throughout.

 

Rated 90 Points by Wine Enthusiast
 

This wine is a great example of classic Brouilly.  It is fruity, just lightly structured with fresh berry flavors that are shot through with acidity.  Drinkable now for its fruitiness, it will be even better from late 2020.  Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant. 

 

Chateau Thivin Brouilly Reverdon Beaujolais 2018

 

Brouilly

 

Appellation D’ origine Controlee

 

A wine full of freshness and fruit.

From the granitic arena of the “Reverdon” locality opposite Mont Brouilly.

 

Grape Variety:  White Juiced Gamay Noir

 

Tasting

 

Beautiful cherry red colour, floral, fruity bouquet, round on the palate with fresh garden fruits; underpinned by supple tannins.  Serving temperature: 14–16°C.

 

Vine Age:  45 Years

 

Soil Type:  Pink Granite Sand

 

Vineyard Area:  1 ha

 

• Sourced from the Reverdon sector of Mont Brouilly, an area known for producing wines of great finesse

 

• Eastern sun exposure on a moderate slope, facing Mont Brouilly

 

• Whole cluster fermentation during 8 days

 

• Raised in concrete tank for 8 months

 

Vinification

 

Vinification in whole bunches in our hillside cellars, whose successive levels allow us to make maximum use of gravity, so as to avoid using either pumps or conveyors for the grapes.  Maceration for only 8 days in order to capture all the freshness of the fruit, matured for 7 months in cement vats.

 

Terroir

 

On a due east-facing 5.5 ha hillside, on a formation of the first foothills of the Massif Central, with a soil of friable pink granite containing little organic matter.  Two cadoles (dry-stone huts), one from the 18th century, testify to the historic nature of this terroir.

This is a part of the appellation that we particularly like, for the Granitic purity and its poor soils that give distinctive wines with very elegant fruit aromas.

 

Viticulture / Vinification

 

• In 2008, the domaine began a conversion to organic viticulture that will be finished around 2020

 

• Biodiversity is achieved by placing hay around the edges of the vineyards and herbs and flowers are planted between rows

 

• Natural composts serve as a natural fertilizer

 

• Regular plowing aerates the soils

 

• All grapes are harvested by hand, in mid-September

 

• All parcels undergo separate vinifications
 

 

Chateau Thivin

 

Country:  France

 

Region:  Beaujolais

 

Appellation(s):  Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly, Brouilly

 

Producer:  Claude Geoffray

 

Founded:  1877

 

Farming:  Organic

 

Website:  www.chateau-thivin.com

 

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.  Even more important, however, is its tremendous success since farmer Zaccharie Geoffray purchased the château with its two hectares of land at auction in 1877.  His son Claude expanded the property over the next few decades, and his son, also named Claude, boosted the prestige of the zone in the face of the Great Depression when he played a pivotal role in the creation of the Côte de Brouilly appellation.  With his wife Yvonne, he also helped to bring greater recognition to the entire region with the establishment of the Maison du Beaujolais in 1953.  Over the years the family continued to promote the appellation, receiving many influential artists and journalists at the château.  The French novelist, Colette, wrote admiringly of her visit to Thivin, for example.  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.

 

Thivin’s Côte de Brouilly parcels are predominantly south-facing and are planted entirely with Gamay vines that average 50 years of age.  The soil is plowed and composted regularly while cover crops are left between some rows to encourage microbiotic activity.  Absolutely no insecticides are used.  On a slope with a grade of 48% and crumbly surface, implementing these techniques is essential to safeguard the soil from erosion, but it isn’t easy!  Each section of the vineyard is harvested and vinified separately to preserve the unique characteristics afforded by variations in exposure and altitude.  Even the estate’s vineyards in the Brouilly appellation are planted on a moderately steep hillside of decomposed pink granite, while most of the appellation is planted on the flat valley floor.  Traditional whole-cluster fermentation keeps the characteristic fruity qualities of Gamay, after which the grapes are transferred to cuves by gravity without being crushed.  Each vintage spends a few months in large oak foudres before bottling.  The resulting wines, according to Kermit, resemble “…a country squire who is not afraid to get his boots muddy.  Handsome, virile, earthy, and an aristocrat.”

 

 

Ranked #86 Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2020

 

Very beautiful red cherry color, floral and fruity nose, round mouth on the fresh fruits of the garden; supported by soft tannins.

 

Rated 91 Points by Wine Spectator

 

Lively acidity cuts through the bright cherry and currant notes of this mouthwatering red, showing details of white pepper, wet stone and dried herb that dovetail onto the finish.  Offers light, integrated tannins, with great energy and focus throughout.

 

 

 

Rated 90 Points by Wine Enthusiast
 

This wine is a great example of classic Brouilly.  It is fruity, just lightly structured with fresh berry flavors that are shot through with acidity.  Drinkable now for its fruitiness, it will be even better from late 2020.  Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant.