Domaine Thillardon Les Carrières 2023

Domaine Thillardon is run by the Thillardon brothers, young growers who have championed the smaller Chenas cru of Beaujolais since 2008. Les Carrieres is a natural red made entirely from Gamay grown on flint soils, and that stony flint site gives the wine its mineral edge and firm, saline drive. Chenas is one of the ten Beaujolais crus, known for structured, ageworthy Gamay. Farming is biodynamic and organic, and the wine is made naturally with native yeasts and minimal intervention, which keeps the aromatics precise and site driven. It ages 12 months in used French oak barrels, where seasoned wood adds no obvious oak flavour but softens the tannin and rounds the texture through gentle oxygen exchange. The colour is a bright ruby. The nose leads with raspberry and cherry over crushed stone, black pepper and a floral rose lift, and the palate is light to medium bodied and fresh, with fine tannin, brisk acidity and a mineral, red currant finish. This is Gamay with more grip and depth than everyday Beaujolais. Serve lightly chilled at 15 degrees with poultry, charcuterie and mushroom dishes.