CHATEAU THIVIN 2018 COTE DE BROUILLY

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "The 2018 Côte de Brouilly is still a little closed after its recent bottling, but it's a promising wine in the making, unwinding in the glass with scents of cherries, plums, licorice and rich soil tones, complemented by floral top notes that blossom as the wine sits in the glass. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and satiny, with a textural, enveloping profile, a deep and voluminous core, ripe but succulent acids and powdery structuring tannins. The 2018 vintage has turned out well for the Geoffray family's Château Thivin, a historic estate that continues to rank among the reference points for classical, age-worthy cru Beaujolais. Working toward organic certification, the Geoffrays have banished herbicides and insecticides from their vineyards and number among the appellation's most conscientious farmers. In the cellar, winemaking is traditional, with semi-carbonic maceration and élevage generally in foudre—though some small cuvées see a little new wood. A staple of France's best restaurants—and this writer's table—any readers who are not acquainted with these wines are warmly advised to seek them out."