2023 Chénas Chassignol
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2025 - 2034
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Paul-Henri Thillardon has become a poster boy for low-intervention, biodynamic winemaking, part of the Les Biojolais group with Julien and Anthonie Sunier, David Beaupère and Raphael Saint-Cyr. Based in Chénas and working with his brother, Charles (who, to the best of my knowledge, I have never met), Thillardon converted his viticulture to organic in 2008. The domaine employs two horses to work 12 hectares of vine and recently reintroduced fruit trees amongst the vine rows (especially in the lieu-dit of Chassignol). Fermentations take place in concrete vats following both manual and gravity-fed transfer. The wines are raised in a combination of concrete and three sizes of used wooden barrels between 228 and 600 liters. “In 2023, there was plenty of sun, with rain every couple of weeks,” Thillardon explained as I tasted through his latest range. These are, in some ways, uncompromising wines: if you are seeking opulent, lavish, fruit-driven Gamay, then this is not the place to come. These are about texture, transparency and vin nature, with all the traits associated with that style of winemaking. I particularly enjoyed his 2023 Chénas Chassignol and his very capable Moulin-à-Vent Alizés. Some of the whites are a bit outré though certainly worth investigating, especially the slightly oxidative Cuvée Albert, a blend of Chardonnay and Aligoté labelled as Vin de France.