Château Thivin - Claude Geoffray

Grape variety

Gamay noir à jus blanc

Location

The Côte de Brouilly appellation area, on the sloping sides of Mont Brouilly, with an excellent, well-drained soil of volcanic rocks (diorite porphyrite) mixed with clay, easterly and southerly exposure.

Growing method

Vines planted at a high density of 7–10,000 per hectare, trained in the low “gobelet” (goblet) pattern which is traditional in the “Crus” of Beaujolais, soil partly grass- and flower-covered as part of our Terra Vitis integrated farming method. Large numbers of insects are now repopulating our vines. We use green methods to obtain a harvest which is small but very ripe and concentrated.

Wine-making

Hand-picking using small tubs to protect the grapes, 13 to 15 days’ vinification, pressing with a pneumatic press, a tenth of the ageing is done in new casks and the rest in one- to five-year-old casks. This wine has developed for nine months in the cask.

Blend

This cuvée comes from a blend of our oldest plantings; the plots at La Chapelle in the south and Godefroy in the east.

Tasting notes

Beautiful deep red colour, very ripe fruit flavour (blackcurrant, blackberry), mouth round and warm with lots of spice. This wine is currently a little young, though already very pleasant, and can be kept for up to ten years.

With food …

It is an excellent wine to accompany a fine beef. It is also the ideal partner for Beaufort cheese or goat’s cheese.

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