Château Thivin, Côte de Brouilly Les Sept Vignes 2023

Though surrounded by Brouilly vines, Côte de Brouilly is a quite separate appellation. It is one of the smallest crus, occupying the slopes of an ancient volcanic plug. The soil is very different and is characterised by the blue-grey volcanic rock, andesite. Château Thivin, at the heart of the appellation, has a long history in the Côte dating back at least to the 14th century, and takes its name from a lawyer called Thivind who purchased it in the aftermath of the French Revolution. The house and cellars sit on the slopes of the Côte, surrounded by vines. The forbears of present owners the Geoffrays purchased it in 1877, acquired further vineyards and were later instrumental in the establishment of the Côte de Brouilly appellation during the depression years of the 1930s. Today Claude Geoffray and his wife Evelyne, together with their son Claude-Edouard work the vineyards and make the wine with great respect for tradition and for the terroir, doing as much work as possible by hand, minimising the use of sprays, and employing mini-tractors to reduce any impact on the land, earning a Terra Vitis certification in the process.

All the seven plots of vineyard are harvested, usually in September, and vinified separately. Various cuvées are made, some of which are from single vineyards, with the best aged in 228 litre casks. The mantra here is minimum intervention, low-tech winemaking that begins with respect for the soil and finishes with some of the best Côte de Brouilly wines...