Château Thivin – 2020

21.4.2022billn

Sonia Geoffray 2022 Château ThivinTasted in Château Thivin with Sonia Geoffray, 09 February 2022.

Château Thivin
69460 Odénas
Tel: +33 4 74 03 47 53
www.chateau-thivin.com
More reports with Château Thivin

Sonia on 2021:
Yes we had some frost in the low and the high parts – we have the advantage that gamay does produce more buds though in some places that wasn’t that ripe but generally it was not too bad – we can’t complain as some neighbours had nothing in the same place. Overall, the volumes were not too bad for the conditions. We engaged some extra workers to de-leaf as we saw some rot starting to develop – on the green grapes even – I’ve hardly ever seen that before – and the resulting aeration helped a lot.

Sonia on 2020:
We were very happy with the result – very dry and hot. We luckily had some rain before the harvest – which we didn’t have in 2019 – which helped bring some extra freshness.

The wines…

Some of the best results are chez Thivin in 2020 – there are some top-class wines and not always the most expensive ones!

All the wines were in bottle:

2020 Beaujolais Villages Blanc Clos de Rochebonne
There’s a little more skin contact here – it’s overnight on the skins before pressing the next day. 460m altitude yet no frost here in 2021 – almost every year these are the last vines to be harvested.
Broad, here’s a richness of aroma – fresh and faintly oaked. Supple, mobile – really a silky texture. The flavour broadening over the palate and holding very well – perhaps a little richer than I remember for the 2019. That’s very good – never any of the rigour of most BJ Blanc with this cuvée…

2020 Brouilly Reverdon
Granitic, looking to the east and the hill of Brouilly and the Thivin domaine. Different label to the classic (for the Brouilly and the BV blanc) but it’s been like that since the 70s. On a pink granite – like in Chiroubles and Fleurie.
Dark colour – lots of freshness and a depth of pure dark fruit. Hmm – that’s really vibrant – love the energy here, depth to this flavour, modestly framed with a suggestion of tannin. This is delicious and has super energy too…

2020 Côte de Brouilly Les Sept Vignes
Here the famous bluestone soil. An assembly of their seven parcels – hence the name. ‘Normally more structured and powerful for long aging.’ There can be two or even three bottlings of this as it’s a large cuvée
Of course, lots of colour. Airy, pretty, floral. Wider over the palate, a little extra depth of flavour and minerality vs the more fruit-forward 2019. This has a super width of finishing flavour. Simply excellent…

2020 Côte de Brouilly Clos Bertrand
From in front of the château, was a vineyard for the church in the 1300s. Sheep grazing there again – in the middle of the slope – today.
A deeper nose – wider at the base – more fruit-focused and pure fruit too. Extra direct, super silky – slowly becoming more velvet as the modest tannin shows. That’s absolute class – bravo – and I bought some!

2020 Côte de Brouilly La Griottes de Brulhié
Brulhié is the old (1735) spelling of Brouilly. Mid-slope parcel, south-facing – an early ripening section.
Where the last was deep, this nose is sleek and wide – the impression of silk. Likewise, it’s the cool width of this wine that impresses, framed with an accent of dryness from the tannin – but no grain. Perhaps a little calmer – until you reach the finish, which impresses a lot, starting with energy and slowly fading. Simply excellent wine.

2020 Côte de Brouilly Cuvée la Chapelle
Plain south-facing, the highest vines with a steep, close to 40% incline – more clay on the more fertile soil, and really needs a caterpillar tractor to be safe
Almost a saturated colour. Hmm – a concentrated but fine fresh nose – an impression of cherry stones in the dark fruit. Supple, concentrated – never heavy or fat – the flavour delivered with accessibility and maybe, the first, with a faint accent of barrel. The finish is pure and long. This will be great but give it 2-3 years first…
2020 Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Godefroy
It’s a blend of parcels. Godefroy is the name of the lieu-dit. From very old vines – the oldest are about 100-years-old – bought by Claude-Edouard’s grandfather – so in the family nearly 100 years – but it wasn’t him who planted them…
The grapes of the old vines have delivered an almost saturated colour this year. Yet what open and fresh aromas – there is, of course, much depth to this dark fruit. Neither direct nor extra-wide, here there is a wine that delivers in all directions. Mouth-watering freshness and a tannin that almost shows some grain. Always mouth-watering. A wine that you should wait for so that it opens and embraces you – but it has everything. The finish is particularly large and persistent – wait 5 years! It will be another great one…
2020 Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Zaccharie
It was Zaccharie who bought the domaine in 1877, at that time with less than 4 hectares – Marguerite was his wife. This was bottled in September – the last to be done from about May onwards… The only wine with elevage in 228-litre barrels, all the other cuvées done in foudres. Maximum 10% new oak used here. It’s the only wine that’s a blend of terroirs – except the first one.
Freshness and width to this nose – clearly the most floral wine of all these, perhaps with a faint whiff of oak too. The mouth-filling presence of the last but clearly another level of textural sophistication. Lithe, mobile – almost fluid despite its impressive concentration. Yes!

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