Those who wait will be rewarded – 90p

​With November here every wine lover is gearing up for the usual hype of the Beaujolaise Nouveau. Soon all will be drinking unfinished red wine and raving over how good it is. Well, not me! I’m calling bullshit in this, quite frankly, stupid and infuriating “tradition”. Stupid because it is a hype without proper wine traditions, just something invented during the hey day of 80’s cultural excess. And infuriating because these wines could be so much better! Had the wines been given time to develop, rest and cultivated like, you know, proper wines, we could be drinking fantastic bottles made from the criminally underrated grape, Gamay. Like the this week’s wine for example.

​Château Thivin is the benchmark domaine of the Côte de Brouilly in Beaujolaise. 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. The parcels are predominantly south-facing and are planted entirely with Gamay vines that average 50 years of age. The soil is plowed and composted regularly while cover crops are left between some rows to encourage microbiotic activity. Absolutely no insecticides are used.

​In the Les Sept Vignes, The Seven Vines, we find a majority of white-juiced Gamay noir, but also some Chardonnay to provide finesse. The plots of Côte de Brouilly all lie on the east, south, and west flanks of Mont Brouilly. The soils are dominated by the “blue stone“(Metadiorite), stonier for the highest plots and more clayey for those nearer the foot of the hill. The grapes are all handpicked, usually in mid-September, and matured for seven months in large oaks. The wines is then blended in the cellar with wines from seven different plots.

​Tasting notes:

Ch. Thivin Les Sept Vignes Côtes de Brouilly 2020 - 239,90 kr
​
Very floral on the nose with scent of roses and some  cherry. Good lenght and minerality in the mouth. Blackberries, cherry and some spices hits the tounge as you start to sip. Very delicate. A bit closed at first, but then starts to develop and after an hour really opens up. Tannins are present but not in the way. Very good fat poultry dishes like duck. Will also be good with some spicy dishes, a good alternative to white wines if you are having something spicy.

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