2023 Anthony Thevenet, Beaujolais Villages, France.
Anthony Thevenet, who’s wines have really elevated over the last 4 or 5 vintages, has made some absolutely delicious Gamay offerings from 2023, including his basic Beaujolais Villages that shows off an authentic purity, terroir character and a seductive array of dark fruit, spice, delicate florals and mineral tones in the glass. This bright, medium bodied, dark purple/garnet hued and peppery Gamay delivers plenty of whole cluster thrill on the palate with blackberry, strawberry, plum and cranberry fruits, along with spicy cinnamon, minty herbs, hints of gravelly stones, walnut, blood orange, forrest floor and anise notes. The savory elements add complexity, but does take away from the joyous fruit core and the violet/lilac aromatics, making for a lovely wine and a value in the category. I’ve been really excited by the latest stuff from Anthony Thevenet, who got his start with Beaujolais legends, Georges Descombes and Jean Foillard, especially his Morgon bottlings, as reviewed here in my prior wine of the day articles. The vines are all tended with organic methods with biodynamic practices and most are mature plots on classic granite soils, but with some on sand and Brocken limestone and clay as well, that softens the tannin and adds a fruit ripeness to this wine, which is intended for early drinking pleasures.
Thevenet, who as mentioned spent five years as the right hand man of Jean Foillard, one of the true luminaries of the Beaujolais region, started on his own in 2013, creating his own label and securing prime vineyards and impressive results came right away. As per normal with the best producers, the wines at Thevenet’s cellar are vinified by whole bunch (partial) carbonic fermentation using only native yeast and the wines are aged in a combination of neutral (old) oak casks, including 600L barrels, as well as used smaller 228L barriques, usually bought from quality Burgundy domaines, and the wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. Thevenet’s family domaine vines are located in Morgon, which is just to the south of Fleurie and Chiroubles on granite based soils that brings out a fine mineral note in the wines and even though the climate is fairly warm, the elevation and the natural acidity of the Gamay grape makes for balanced and complex wines here. Of Anthony Thevenet’s wines, again as noted above, I recommend the Vieilles Vignes (Old Vine) Cuvée, his lovely Chénas, the Cuvée Julia Côte du Py Morgon, to name a few. In 2016 and 2017 Thevenet leased some Beaujolais Village and those Chénas vineyards, adding more depth and range to his mostly Morgon parcels, and giving us a great entry level bottling, as seen here with this 2023 Beaujolais Village.
($25 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive