Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly 750ML
Château Thivin the 8.3 hectares of vineyard spread over the east, south and south-west sides yield very individual wines, having a red colour with bluish reflections, and a subtle flavour of violet and peony. In the mouth it distinguishes itself with a lovely balance of silky tannins and wild red fruits such as wild strawberry or bilberry. The finish is long and peppery.
Wine Advocate
I did not taste any single-site Cote de Brouilly “outtakes” from Claude Geoffroy this vintage nor any of his alternate assemblages (save for his as usual barrique-aged, rather awkwardly wood-dried, gum-numbing, muddied -Cuvee Zacharie-), but the Cote de Brouilly that serves as his ambassador in the U.S. – a blend from five sites – is among his most successful of recent years. The balance of textural richness and crisp dark berry refreshment; extract with levity, is formidable, and there is a complexity of stony, saline, iodine and black tea-like smoky nuances that along with herbal pungency; grain sprout piquancy; and tangy bite of berry seed and black pepper all lead to a long finish of intriguing dynamics and exhilarating invigoration. Those who exercise some patience will be rewarded, since even in so generously forward a vintage as this, one can anticipate at least the better part of a decade-s interesting and delicious evolution. Few wines of Beaujolais, indeed, can boast a track record remotely close to that of Thivin-s Cote de Brouilly.
Score: 92. —David Schildknecht, June 2013.