"A staple of France's best restaurants—and this writer's table—any readers who are not acquainted with these wines are warmly advised to seek them out." -William Kelley
As we've written before, Château Thivin is one of the unsung great producers of Beaujolais.
Sadly, finding many of their top wines in the U.S. is very difficult. There's no doubt that if these wines were widely available, Thivin would be held in much higher esteem. At their best, Thivin turns out Beaujolais of truly uncommon earthy depth and ageability.
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In general, the wines of Côte du Brouilly have sadly gotten somewhat lost amidst the greater star power of the more northern crus, like Morgon and Fleurie. In terms of the diversity and interest that Beaujolais has to offer, this is an unfortunate circumstance. Côte du Brouilly sits on Mt. Brouilly, an extinct volcano. The soil is defined by diorite, which is a hard volcanic rock, with a small influence of clay. The resulting wines have a profound architecture and power, along with a soaring cast of aromatics.
Château Thivin has long been a benchmark in Côte du Brouilly. The legendary food writer, Richard Olney, served as Kermit Lynch's translator and somewhat as a guide in Lynch's early days. Olney, a lover of Beaujolais and wine in general, introduced Lynch to Thivin in 1976. As William Kelley makes clear, the estate hasn't missed a beat: "This historic estate continues to rank among the reference points for classical, age-worthy cru Beaujolais."
Starting with Griottes de Brulhié, it is a south-facing site that produces wines with soaring aromatics of flowers, spices, smoke, and bright red and dark fruit. Godefroy is from an east-facing vineyard of 80-100-year-old vines. It's a powerful and structured Beaujolais that delivers really impressive complexity. Finally, La Chapelle comes from old vines planted at the highest part of Mt. Brouilly. It is the most structured and age-worthy of the three.
Thivin's 2022s offer an impressive layered complexity with notes of dark and bright fruits to violets, smoke, dark minerality, perfume, and exotic spices. All of this is rendered with a penetrating intensity and striking clarity. There are ample tannins, but they are silken and nicely integrated, and everything is animated by a buoyant acid backbone.
Thivin's 2022s are simply gorgeous. Across the board, they have formidable structures and stern mineral backbones. These shouldn't be missed.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
