Charly Thévenet
Growing up the son of famous “Gang of Four” Morgon
producer Jean-Paul Thévenet, Charly Thévenet was exposed quite early on to
traditional, more natural viticulture—a philosophy that his father and friends
helped to resurrect in Beaujolais in the early eighties. Though only in his
twenties, Charly has already started a dynamic career. A few years ago, with
extensive experience working for his father and in Marcel Lapierre’s winery
already under his belt, he purchased a parcel of eighty-year-old vines in
Régnié, west-southwest of his hometown of Villié-Morgon. Régnié is a terroir enjoying something of its own
renaissance in the hands of talented growers like Charly and his dad’s pal, Guy
Breton. In fact, Regnié has joined the short list of Grand Crus in the Beaujolais. Situated on a plateau of seabed stone
in the foothills of the Côte du Py, it gives a fresh wine with solid acidity.
As the next generation of the natural wine
movement, Charly seems to have inherited his father’s savoir faire. He uses biodynamic farming techniques in the
vineyard, never adding synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides to the
vines. He harvests late, with an aggressive sorting of the grapes, adds minimal
doses of sulfur dioxide, ages the wine in four-year-old Burgundian barriques, and bottles his wines
unfiltered. Add a dose of that Thévenet talent, and you have a recipe for
excellent wine! The 2007 vintage marked his first release and his first
collaboration with KLWM.
We are unanimously
impressed with this rising star.

As the next generation of the natural wine movement, Charly seems to have inherited his father’s savoir faire. He uses biodynamic farming techniques in the vineyard, never adding synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides to the vines. He harvests late, with an aggressive sorting of the grapes, adds minimal doses of sulfur dioxide, ages the wine in four-year-old Burgundian barriques, and bottles his wines unfiltered. Add a dose of that Thévenet talent, and you have a recipe for excellent wine! The 2007 vintage marked his first release and his first collaboration with KLWM.
We are unanimously impressed with this rising star.
Technical Information
Wine | Blend | Vine Age | Soil Type | Vineyard Area* |
---|---|---|---|---|
Régnié “Grain et Granit” |
Gamay | Planted in 1932 and 1946 | Granite | 3 ha |
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres |
VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION
• Old-vines with
naturally low yields
• Biodynamic methodology (aeration of the soil, herbal infusions, natural composts, cover crops, planting in accordance with the lunar calendar) used to stimulate the natural immune system of the vine
• Manually harvested, as late as possible to achieve maximum ripeness
• Rigorous sorting of the grapes
• Indigenous yeasts only to start fermentation
• Whole cluster fermentation
• Wines aged on fine lees in old Burgundy barrels
• No fining or filtration
• Biodynamic methodology (aeration of the soil, herbal infusions, natural composts, cover crops, planting in accordance with the lunar calendar) used to stimulate the natural immune system of the vine
• Manually harvested, as late as possible to achieve maximum ripeness
• Rigorous sorting of the grapes
• Indigenous yeasts only to start fermentation
• Whole cluster fermentation
• Wines aged on fine lees in old Burgundy barrels
• No fining or filtration
General Information
- Country
- France
- Region
- Beaujolais
- Appellation(s)
- Régnié
- Producer
- Charly Thévenet
- Founded
- 2006
- Annual Production
- 525 cases
- Farming
- Biodynamic (practicing)