This Grenache-Carignan blend from Maury, grown on schist soils and raised in tank, showcases ripe black fruits with notes of struck flint, peat, cocoa, and licorice. Balanced by bitter fruit skin and mineral grip, it finishes dynamically with freshness and structure. Harvested by hand and meticulously sorted, this wine delivers depth and value. 

The Wine Advocate | RP 90
Published: May 2, 2016
Drink: 2011-2014

Thunevin-Calvet's tank-raised Grenache-Carignan 2008 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Constance - all from Maury and all grown on schist - displays pungent struck-flint and peat overtones, along with cocoa powder that one associate with its genre, nicely accenting richly ripe but in no way superficially sweet black fruits. Bitter suggestions of fruit skin and pit, as well as tactile counterparts to the mineral notes, signaled in the nose, serve for counterpoint and for a dynamic finishing interaction. As with past editions, this Cuvee offers excellent value. I would plan to enjoy it over the next 2-3 years. 

To settle a trademark dispute, the former Domaine Calvet-Thunevin is now "Thunevin-Calvet," but there were no corresponding changes in company structure or team members. Where there has been change - and for more about how Jean-Roger Calvet and Jean-Luc Thunevin entered into this collaboration and its evolution consult my report in issue 183 - is in the line-up of wines and their elevage. New wood, like ultra-ripe fruit, is still prominent, but barriques have increasingly given way to demi-muids and foudres, while the talk is of enhancing freshness and minerality, an aim reflected not only in the rigorous exclusion via table de trie of any overripe berries and in the approach to fermentation and elevage, but also in a decision to plant additional Carignan which, like Mourvedre, Calvet sees as having a more important role in the domaine's future. Most of the wines I tasted on this occasion were in the 15-15.5% alcohol range but seldom did I apprehend any significant heat. (Changes in the individual cuvee make-ups are detailed in my tasting notes.) The 2008 vintage was noteworthy for the length of its ripening period, notes Calvet, with his harvest not having concluded until the end of the first week in October. The 2009 harvest was finished two weeks sooner and even then required stringent sorting to remove overripe berries in Grenache as well as Syrah.

Thunevin-calvet.fr

It was in the foothills of the Pyrenees, on the road to the Cathar castles in Maury, that our Domaine was born in 2001 from the meeting of two winegrowers: Jean-Luc Thunevin, owner of Château Valandraud in Saint-Emilion and Jean-Roger Calvet originally from Maury.

Jean-Luc first bought a few hectares which, combined with Jean-Roger's vines, produced the first vintage vinified in a garage located in an alleyway in the village of Maury.

The estate gradually expanded. Today, 50 hectares are cultivated with respect for the environment! The Domaine's vintages are vinified in a resolutely ecologically oriented winery, built in 2008.

Gourmet terroir wine that seduces with its regular quality and its quality / price ratio. 
The style is intense and deep with notes of black fruits and liquorice. All the plots are harvested by hand; sorting the berries in the vineyard and in the cellar is essential for this cuvee in order to obtain a balance between fruit, acidity and tannins