Jean-Paul Thévenet is one of the Gang of Four of Beaujolais (the others being Guy Breton, Jean Foillard and Marcel Lapierre) and perhaps best embodies the "old school" qualities that these winemakers have championed. Thevenet works a plot of extremely old vines in the Morgon appellation. The average age of the vines is 70 years and they are cultivated organically and yield very little fruit.
The grapes are fermented with natural yeasts and, quite remarkably, often without the addition of any sulphur dioxide (commonly used by winemakers as a preservative and to prevent bacteriological growth). After fermentation Thévenet ages the wine for six to eight months in used oak barrels that he gets from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The wines are bottled without filtration.
The grapes are fermented with natural yeasts and, quite remarkably, often without the addition of any sulphur dioxide (commonly used by winemakers as a preservative and to prevent bacteriological growth). After fermentation Thévenet ages the wine for six to eight months in used oak barrels that he gets from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The wines are bottled without filtration.
