The Domaine Thivolle Story
Originally from Normandy, Xavier Thivolle spent 10 years in the corporate world before deciding to turn his hand to winemaking. Since 2019 he has been working from his small winery in Fêtre, at the top of the Chiroubles appellation, with a mission to make classic Beaujolais wines, authentic and true to their individual terroirs. His carefully chosen parcels, which are dotted around the granitic hillsides of the Cru appellations of Chiroubles and Morgon, total 5ha – 3.8ha of which currently in production. Many of his vines are old, some as old as 90 years. Vineyards are planted on sandy granitic soils at elevations of around 600m, relatively high for the area. Xavier works all his vines himself, biodynamically, and he will be organically certified as of 2022. Focused on capturing and fully expressing the character of the different terroirs, vinification is very much a “natural” process and the philosophy one of interfering as little as possible in the cellar, with only a small amount of SO2 added at bottling (10mg/L).
Domaine Thivolle Wines
All three wines are made in the same way, receiving the traditional Beaujolais treatment of semi-carbonic maceration using natural yeasts. Gravity is used to transfer the carefully selected whole bunches into open concrete vats. Temperatures are kept low during alcoholic fermentation, and there is a controlled and carefully considered use of pigeage and remontage.
All wines undergo ten-months maturation and are bottled in May. Stainless steel is used for Chiroubles Tradition, while Chiroubles Amphoras goes into 600L sandstone amphorae. Xavier prefers sandstone, over clay or ceramic models, due to the high temperature at which it is baked during production (1,350+°C), resulting in less oxygen transfer during maturation, a feature he believes to suit Gamay especially well. A combination of concrete and fiberglass is used for Morgon Le Charmeur.
The result is three excellent wines: serious, expressive, and true to terroir, but nevertheless non-mistakenly Beaujolais in style. There is great regional typicity – vibrant, crunchy red fruit layered upon a cool stream of volcanic acidity. And plenty of that forward charm and drinkability for which the appellation is known.
But there is an added dimension to be found here too: finesse, elegance, and purity; and great energy.
Red
| Description | Year |
|---|---|
| Morgon, Le Chasseur | 2022 |
| Chiroubles Tradition | 2022 |
| Chiroubles Amphoras | 2022 |