Château Thivin is one of my favorite domaines to visit each year. Our annual tradition of blending the new vintage for our custom KLWM bottling, followed by an intimate and soul-warming lunch of traditional French comfort food expertly prepared by matriarch Evelyne Geoffray, is perhaps the apex of my travels on the wine road.
     Accustomed to tasting dark, rich, concentrated wines from the hot and dry vintages that have become so standard in the Beaujolais in recent years, I was in for a surprise when I arrived at the Château on a misty morning this past March. The 2021 growing season, as described by the Geoffray family, represents a throwback to decades past, when cooler conditions led to harvest taking place much later than is the norm today. The grapes brought into the cellar had modest sugar levels and vibrant acidities, setting the stage for lighter wines characterized by lively freshness rather than overt ripeness.
     Thivin also makes a phenomenal wine in hot years, as the Côte de Brouilly’s stony terroir always takes the upper hand on bombastic fruit—even if you sometimes have to wade through a sea of succulent wild berries to reach that flinty core. But in years like 2021, the Côte’s signature minerality is at the forefront, offering crunchy, smoky nuances from the very first sip. Alcohol is low, the Gamay fruit is pure and bright, and aromas of purple flowers and herbs round out its delightful complexity.
     Our unfiltered blend highlights Thivin’s wealth of old-vine parcels across several of the Côte de Brouilly’s best sites, giving it real depth to complement the vintage’s leaner profile. And it will undoubtedly age wonderfully—a recent tasting showed that these wines blossom slowly and beautifully over time, regardless of vintage conditions. For lovers of old-fashioned Beaujolais in all its elegant, high-toned, terroir-driven glory, Thivin’s newly arrived 2021 is simply hard to beat.