Domaine Charnay is the story of a homecoming. After nearly a decade running his own construction company, Thibault Charnay returned to his family's vineyards in 2012 and set about turning them into one of the bright young organic estates of the southern Beaujolais.
Backstory
Thibault Charnay came back to his hometown and family vines in 2012, expanding the holdings around the town of Anse. Inspired by his brother-in-law Raphael at Domaine Saint Cyr, he converted the domaine to organic farming in 2019 and began vinifying and bottling his own wine that same year.
The Region
The estate sits in Anse, in the south of Beaujolais, on the pierres dorees, the golden limestone that gives the area its name and its warm, stony character.
Vineyards and Farming
Charnay organically farms 12 hectares of Gamay across the pierres dorees. The conversion to organics in 2019 marked the turning point from grower to full estate winemaker.
Winemaking
Grapes are picked as whole clusters and added to a stainless-steel tank blanketed with CO2 in the cold carbonic style. Fermentation begins intracellularly using native yeasts, rather than crushing the fruit, producing wines that are light in tannin and bright in fruit.
The Wines
The flagship is a joyful Beaujolais Gamay: low in tannin, rich in red and lightly blue fruits, with a tell-tale touch of cinnamon from the carbonic maceration.
