2015 Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly

• By Josh Raynolds
  2015 Beaujolais Part 2: A Vintage of Richness and Energy (Jan 2017), 1/1/2017, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Château Thivin Côte-de-brouilly) Login and sign up and see review text.

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull The Futility of New Years Resolutions, 1/27/2017, (See more on Full Pull...)

  (Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly) Hello friends. Each year when the calendar ticks over to January, I seem to make the same resolution with regards to Full Pull. Stop. Pre. Buying. Because pre-buying is not the model Full Pull was built on. We were built on a model of low- or no-excess inventory. It’s challenging, because as we grow, the wines and the deals offered to us only get better and more compelling. But still. That’s not how we operate. Mostly. And so each January I resolve to get back to basics and try to keep the pre-offer purchasing to a minimum. This particular January, I have been especially reminded of the futility of this resolution, because already, less than four weeks into the year, we’ve received deliveries of three pre-purchased parcels. Yes, I made two of the three deals in December, but still, the fact remains: this is not auspicious. The good news for our list members, however: all three parcels are secure in the warehouse and ready for immediate pickup. And all three are deeply compelling wines (or else I wouldn’t have been seduced!) for one reason or another. Let’s dive into them. When we offered Thivin’s rosé as part of our Thanksgiving-themed offer last year, I mentioned that I was disappointed we couldn’t offer the red Cote de Brouilly, which we had offered as part of the previous two Thanksgivings. Well, now we have it, but barely enough to warrant an offer, and it’s all thanks to the 2015-vintage hype train I referenced in our Bila Haut offer last week. I never thought I’d see the day where Thivin was allocated and pre-sold, but 2015 has that kind of power. Thivin’s Cote de Brouilly is a glorious wine, one of my favorites in this big diverse wine world. It’s a wine I collect personally and drink young and old; a mood-lifter wine: one that I open at the end of a lousy day because it’s way harder to be grouchy after a glass of this than before. Cote de Brouilly is one of ten “Cru” sub-regions in Beaujolais, and it’s a tiny Cru encompassing the slopes of Mont Brouilly. More specifically, here is where Thivin is located, on the southwestern slope of the mountain, a slope with a 48% grade (note: here is what 50 year old Gamay Noir vines on a 48% slope look like). Kermit Lynch, who has been importing Thivin since 1979, describes the wine as “…a country squire who is not afraid to get his boots muddy. Handsome, virile, earthy, and an aristocrat.” Well said. For me, Thivin represents an unparalleled translation of earth into wine, an ethereal mix of volcanic minerals and the brightest mountain berry fruits. Wine Advocate: Copyrighted material withheld.