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2016 Régnié “Grain & Granit”
Charly ThévenetIn the ten years since we started importing Charly Thévenet’s lone cuvée of Régnié, we have watched as Charly (through a steady regime of CrossFit) has gotten bigger, while his wine—excellent from the beginning—has become less brawny and gained finesse. Starting with the 2016 vintage, a classic year in the Beaujolais sandwiched in between the warmer 2015 and 2017, Charly now uses cement alone to age his Régnié, giving it a fresh, graceful, ethereal lift. Flowers, minerals, and bright fruit—blueberries, raspberries, and cherries—waft from the glass and dance on your palate. It’s markedly different from the darker, earthier Morgon made by Jean-Paul Thévenet, Charly’s father and original Gang of Four member, despite Morgon and Régnié being neighbors. This contrast, though, is not due to a disavowal of the previous generation. Charly and Jean-Paul share many philosophies and work together closely on the latter’s Morgon, which Charly will eventually take over. In the meantime, we are immensely grateful for this elegant Régnié.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2016 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Régnié |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Charly Thévenet |
Winemaker: | Charly Thévenet |
Vineyard: | 80 yrs +, 3 ha |
Soil: | Granite |
Aging: | Wines aged on fine lees in old Burgundy barrels, no fining or filtration |
Farming: | Biodynamic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 13% |
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About The Producer
Charly Thévenet
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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Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.