Is Zaccharie their flagship cuvee?
That is a really good question. I do not know the answer to it. There are so many cuvees. Frankly, I think their base domaine cuvee is their flagship. It continues to be one of the best wine values on the planet, a remarkably consistent wine year after year after year.
I think they just have a lot of flags on the ship. All the different cuvées are delicious,
Got it, any particular characteristics for Zaccharie since it’s being mentioned a lot?
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Zaccharie is their most expensive cuvee, FWIW (at least that I’ve seen).
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Just checked their website. It does appear that Zaccharie is held out as their flagship wine. It’s a blend of what they call their best terroirs. I assumed it was a special vineyard designation. It turns out that La Chappelle, Godefroy, Les Griottes and Clos Bertrand are all single vineyards. The base wine - the Cote de Brouilly - is from 7 plots on Mont Brouilly. The Reverdon Cuvee is not Brouilly, it’s from proximate vineyards in Riverdon.
I’m glad I jumped on the website to read more on this. Before I had just looked at the Kermit Lynch website and focused on vine age. Godefroy is the oldest plot. Zaccharie, according to Kermit, has a lot of Godefroy and La Chappelle in it, for a Vine age range of 40-100+ years. Sees only 10% new oak per Kermit.
I cannot opine on which is the best Cuvee. I have only recently been able to find them in the United States, so I’ve only been introduced to them following the 2015 vintage. In that small window, I have personally concluded that Zaccharie is my favorite, with 2017 as a standout. I will keep buying all of them as I see them.
Amazing the quality and consistency of this house. Like a Baudry or Joguet in that respect, high quality among all bottlings.
Edit: Lol, just saw (recalled) that Cody wrote this same stuff, and better, upstream about a year ago!
Sorry to derail but that corkscrew is sick, where did you find it?
It’s a geeky thing, I have around 100 or so vintage corkscrews, some really cool mechanical ones as well from the early 1800s. I bought this one directly from a collector. Google “vintage” or “antique” corkscrews and you will find quite a few of all types. I will try to find some links to some tusk corkscrews. This one is a personal fave. The tusk is about 7 inches, it’s like a weapon! A drinking weapon.
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I’m an antique nerd myself and am surprised I haven’t seen this before, I love it. Might make some myself out of whitetail sheds I find on my property. I’ll keep my eye out for the vintage ones no question.
Love the tasting note, hope to come across a bottle.
Here is a deer antler one. I broke the cork with my big Campy device, so had to retriever the bottom half carefully. Used an old one I pulled from the drawer that had a larger bladed screw rather than just a needle-style. This one is inexpensive, maybe only 50-60 years old, but I like it for everyday use.
Surprised I don’t have pics of the really cool mechanical antiques on my iPhone!
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They are gorgeous, and to be honest I like the larger profile to them, better steady grip.
I checked the web and you are correct, quite a few options out there, eBay has a large allotment.
The wild boar ones are interesting, seen a couple vintage ones from Europe.
Before you pull the trigger on any, if you want, PM them to me and I’ll give you my thoughts.
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Enablement Alert: Just ordered 5 of the 2020 Godefroy.
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Just had a 2016 Godefroy, it wa delicious. A serious wine, definitely built for long term ageing. Think Thivin and The Fleurie Mise Tardive from Roliette are some serious good value Beaujolais that could convert a non beaujolais drinker
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Figured I’d put 2 pictures since the second one is fuzzy.
2021 Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly cuvée Godefroy
This is my second 2021 from Thivin. I had the Les Sept Vignes a while back (here) and this is giving me the same assessment for 2021s at Thivin. Out of the wine fridge and Pnp so less than ideal temperature initially. It’s got that Welch’s 100% Concord grape juice vibe that I get from some Bojo. That’s pretty much all you get when this is at 14oC. After some air and coming to temp, it morphs into red and dark cherries with slight damp earth. Zingy almost natty-bright first palate but it dissipates on the mid-palate, medium+ acidity and tamed tannins. Medium-short finish that is all fruit. This confirms what the Sept Vignes had hinted at, this isn’t the most structured or probably longest lived vintage at Thivin. Good, fresh Bojo, very clean an expressive cherry fruit, some depth and probably some upside in 5 to 7 but not one for the ages.
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