WTN: Château Thivin 2020 Côte de Brouilly

[Robin Garr]

It being the holidays, I splurged by spending about double or triple my usual budget for a wine with dinner, and what's more, it was a Beaujolais. <gasp>

But it's one of the best Beaujolais going, from my favorite Beaujolais Cru, and a Kermit Lynch import, a signal of reliability for me. I'd certainly buy it again.

Château Thivin 2020 Côte de Brouilly ($29.99)

Fresh from last year's vintage, Château Thivin 2020 Côte de Brouilly is a beautiful example of the best of Beaujolais, organically grown on Côte de Brouilly's typical blue volcanic granite soil that lends its deep minerally characteristic to this bright garnet wine's fresh strawberry, cranberry, anise, and violet. Those complex aromas carry over elegantly to the palate with cleansing acidity and soft but persistent tannins that last with the fruit into a long finish. The label shows 14.1% alcohol, strong for a Beaujolais, but to its credit it doesn't harshen the wine. An excellent Brouilly and a fine choice for the holidays. U.S. importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, Calif. (Dec. 10, 2021)

FOOD MATCH: Wine-Searcher suggests pairing it with chicken and turkey, a good choice for the holidays. It would be fine with pork, too, and would work with beef or game. We enjoyed it with spaghetti with meat sauce (using plant-based Beyond meat Beefy Crumbles and tomato sauce from our garden) and with mild white cheese.

WHEN TO DRINK: Côte de Brouilly and the other Beaujolais villages are generally ageworthy under good cellar conditions and can evolve and gain interest for five years or more. At the same time, it's drinking beautifully right now, so there's no need to wait.

VALUE:My $30 local price tag may seem high for a Beaujolais, but it's from a top village and an outstanding example of the region that bears comparison with more expensive wines. Wine-Searcher.com's $32 average U.S. retail and the same price tag at importer Kermit Lynch is more than fair. It's $37 at Wine.com, and I'll say no more about that!

WEB LINK:
Here's a useful fact sheet from importer Kermit Lynch.

The winery website offers an extensive English-language page.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly on Wine-Searcher.com.

Follow this Wine-Searcher link to find listings for dozens of other wines from Côte de Brouilly.

[David M. Bueker]

My go-to Beaujolais along with Coudert.

[Robin Garr]

Yep, it's a goodie. As I mentioned over in Zuke-land, Jean-Paul Brun's Terres Dorees is also a contender, but this one is just delicious.

I'm not sure it's possible to find a better wine in any part of the Beaujolais than Thivin's Cotes de Brouilly. By the way, Robin, the Cotes d Brouilly, in general produce wines superior to the AOC Brouilly, for the simple fact that they are the cotes, (i.e., the hillsides.)

... the Cotes d Brouilly, in general produce wines superior to the AOC Brouilly, for the simple fact that they are the cotes, (i.e., the hillsides.)

That is of course the general wisdom. But there are always exceptions. Your Bay Area colleague Kermit imports a Brouilly and a Cote de Brouilly from Alex Foillard, and I believe for his plots, the Brouilly can be the more serious wine.

I'll check it out! I actually am quite impressed with Thivin's Brouilly also.

$27 at our LWS. May be time to use one of my gift cards....