Beaujolais fans know and love Foillard, Lapierre and Guy Breton, but there is another member of the original Gang of Four: Jean-Paul Thévenet.
If the Gang of Four were The Beatles, Jean-Paul Thévenet would likely be Ringo. Everyone loves Ringo, but he is maybe not the first Beatle to come to mind when we think of the Fab Four. In Beaujolais, we think of Foillard, Lapierre, & Breton before Thévenet comes to mind. Perhaps this is because of the small production of the estate, only 2,000 cases of wine in a normal year. Sommeliers the world over love their wine, perhaps the wine drinking public should take another look at Thévenet.
The Gang of Four were a group of like-minded winemakers in Beaujolais who rebelled against industrial and commercial winemaking in their region. They worked without the pesticide and herbicides that became popular as Europe rebuilt from two wars, chemicals which promised easy work in the vineyards, and large yields. Disciples of visionary Jules Chauvet, Thévenet, Foillard, Breton and Lapierre practiced organic farming, and sought to make living wines that had vibrancy and pulse, nuance and character. When Kermit Lynch came around, he saw something of a band of brothers, and called the growers The Gang of Four.
This week we will pour Thévenet’s Morgon Vieilles Vignes 2017 from Jeroboam all week long, offering the wine both by the glass, and the carafe as well.
We hope you’ll join us for a glass of Beaujolais this week at Bar Boulud!
MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
Jean-Paul Thévenet,
Morgon Vieilles Vignes 2017
Poured from a 3-Liter Jeroboam
Photo Credit: Gail Skoff