2019 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore “Capovolto”La Marca di San Michele
Italy | Le Marche
$27
Producers
Fritz Rench, a special person in my family, just celebrated his ninetieth birthday. His enthusiasm for Château Thivin may be unmatched in this world. To put things in perspective, I’m almost half his age, and he’s been drinking (and visiting) Thivin since before I was born. In any wine shop where his travels take him, his first question is, without fail, “Got any Château Thivin?” He knows that there is Beaujolais, there is Côte de Brouilly . . . and then there is Château Thivin. The superb 2020 vintage may be the best Thivin ever. It’s got it all, and so much more. Fritz, here’s to you! I have a case of the 2020 here in the cellar with your name on it, ready for your next visit.
—Chris Santini
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2020 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Côte de Brouilly |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Château Thivin |
Winemaker: | Claude Geoffray |
Vineyard: | Average of 50 years, 8.3 ha |
Soil: | Blue volcanic rock comprised of plagioclase and biotite |
Aging: | Ages in oak foudres for six months before bottling |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 14.1% |
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais | Côte de Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais | Brouilly
La Soeur Cadette France | Beaujolais | Juliénas
Quentin Harel France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais
Jean-Paul Thévenet France | Beaujolais | Morgon
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais
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.
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.
Jean-Paul & Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais | Régnié
Quentin Harel France | Beaujolais | Morgon
Quentin Harel France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais Villages
Jean-Paul Thévenet France | Beaujolais | Morgon
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais-Villages
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais | Chiroubles
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais-Villages
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais | Côte de Brouilly
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.
Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol
Many food and beverage cans have linings containing bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical known to cause harm to the female reproductive system. Jar lids and bottle caps may also contain BPA. You can be exposed to BPA when you consume foods or beverages packaged in these containers. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/bpa