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2023 Chénas “Chassignol”
Domaine Thillardon
A finessed, mineral-driven beauty from hundred-year-old vines at the highest point in Chénas, on a steep granite incline overlooking the Thillardon winery.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2023 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Chénas |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Domaine Thillardon |
Winemaker: | Paul-Henri Thillardon |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1920-1936; 3 ha |
Soil: | Pink granite |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
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About The Producer
Domaine Thillardon
Paul-Henri Thillardon grew up in Beaujolais, where his family grew grapes to sell to the local co-op. He worked in the vines as a kid and aspired to make his own wine. At age twenty-one, he purchased vineyards in the cru of Chénas, seeing potential in an appellation that lacked the talent of Morgon and Fleurie. He farmed organically from the start and soon became exposed to the world of natural wine, taking advice from mentors such as Guy Breton. Paul-Henri’s siblings joined him at the domaine, and today they farm ten hectares of vines on a polyculture farm. The Thillardons have earned a reputation for their silky expressions of Gamay. Utilizing natural methods to create terroir-driven wines, the purity and vibrancy of their cuvées put them in company with the region’s most talented vignerons.
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...
I want you to realize once and for all: Even the winemaker does not know what aging is going to do to a new vintage; Robert Parker does not know; I do not know. We all make educated (hopefully) guesses about what the future will bring, but guesses they are. And one of the pleasures of a wine cellar is the opportunity it provides for you to witness the evolution of your various selections. 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.
Inspiring Thirst, page 171