Roland Thévenin

Roland Thévenin 1905-1990

Of GREAT BEGINNINGS                                                                                                                  

Roland Thevénin was born in 1905 the grandson of a Beaune wine grower, Fernand Passerotte who had been tending his vines and making wines since 1856. Such would be his influence on the family business and local life that the name Roland Thévenin & Fils was given to the merchant house developed to promote his signature on wines exported throughout Europe, the United States and Japan.

A poet of some repute, Thévenin published several works on the life of the vines and the vineyard. His influence locally was enormous, Troubadour of the famous Brotherhood of Knights of the Order of the Tasteviné, Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tasteviné, he was also to become Lord Mayor of his native village of Saint-Romain He continued to hold this office for no less than thirty-six years. He it was who championed the cause of Saint-Romain in a relentless drive for ever-improved quality and distinctive style. These efforts were rewarded in 1947, just fifteen years after Thévenin had started his business, when the I.N.A.O. national standards office for wines accorded the village of Saint-Romain Communal status, acknowledging Saint-Romain wines as worthy of recognition in their own right, alongside other famous names such as Beaune, Pommard, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin

Fifteen years later, at the Dijon fair. Thévenin commemorated this achievement with the launch of his now famous Mon Village label Saint-Romain wines. This is the only known example where the I.N.A.O. has permitted the use of a personal name for an A.O.C. wine. Roland Thévenin finally left Saint-Romain in 1990, when he passed away at the venerable age of 85.

The Thévenin style is carried on today by his successors in Nuits-Saint-Georges, where a wide range of famous appellations, including those produced on the family domain, are vinified, bottled and then aged in the excellent cellars of this most respected of houses.

 

THE SPIRIT LIVES ON

The complexity of the Burgundy vineyards is reflected in the extensive Thévenin wines available today. Here is a selection of some of our favorites.

• Saint-Romain located in the famous Côte de Beaune. It was the home of Roland Thévenin. Saint-Romain Mon Village is made from 100% Chardonnay. Vinified in the traditional manner and aged in oak casks, it has a marked floral bouquet revealing aromas of toast and ripe fruit. Quite lively in taste, honey flavors may develop with age. This white wine matures surprisingly well and can be kept for as long as six to twelve years.
• The Macon vineyards are more southerly than the Côte de Beaune. Macon-Villages is a white wine, made from 100% Chardonnay, not surprising since the famous grape takes its name from a small village in this region. "Villages" is added to "Mâcon" indicating that only grapes harvested in certain chosen plots are selected by R. Thévenin for this wine. The resulting wine is lively and fresh, with delicate fruity and floral flavors enhanced by more mineral "stony" undertones.
• Like Saint-Romain, Meursault is the name of a village in the Côte de Beaune, in the very heart of Burgundy. Over ninety per cent of the wines from the Meursault vineyards are white wines from the Chardonnay grape. Their mellow style and overwhelming flavors of almonds, apples and warm bread crust have made them some of the most sought after wines in the world. They also have that particular advantage for white wines of being able to age for at least five years, and even up to ten.
• Like Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet is one of the jewels in the crown of the C6te de Beaune, although red grapes are also grown in this more southerly village. Again, only Chardonnay grapes harvested in the vineyards of the village can be used to make this most exceptional of white wines. Sumptuous aromas of ripe apples, flowers, almonds and honey are characteristic. Montrachet will continue to develop for about ten years.
• Grapes harvested in all but four of the village vineyards of the Côte de Beaune can be used to produce this wine. The Côte de Beaune red are all 100% Pinot Noir, a prestigious grape variety that provides a perfect balance between red skinned , fruit flavors and more 'virile" animal aromas. Good tannin content allows for ageing over many years, but is not to the detriment of a smooth texture on the palate in this excellent example of a fine red Burgundy.
• The Roland Thévenin headquarters are today in Roland Thévenin Nuits-Saint-Georges, an important center in the Burgundian wine trade. The vineyards that surround the town are planted almost exclusively with Pinot Noir. Only the best sites are able to earn the distinction of Premier Cru. Our Nuits-Saint-Georges is an intensely deep ruby red and its generous fruit aromas combine subtly with complex spice flavors. Both powerful and smooth, these wines can be put down for five to ten years and in the best vintages will last for up to twenty-five.
• In developing his business, Thévenin wanted to find more readily available wines for the nonconnoisseur, but which he could make according to his town exacting Burgundian standards. This search brought him to the vineyards of the Rhône valley and the South of France, where the sun-drenched slopes fill the grapes with rich fruit flavours. The Roland Thevenin Blanc and Roland Thévenin Rouge wines have become as typical an example of the Burgundian art as the more prestigious " Mon Village" wines from Saint-Romain.

ROLAND THEVENIN & FILS

ACTIVITIES IN BRIEF

ACTIVITY: Merchant-Grower in fine wines

PRODUCT RANGE:

BURGUNDY

• Regional
• Côte de Beaune
• St Romain "Mon Village" White
• Côte de Nuits
• Chablis
• Premiers Crus and Grands Crus
• Hospices de Beaune and Tastevinés

BEAUJOLAIS/ MACONNAIS:

• Regional appellations, Beaujolais, Crus

RHONE VALLEY:

• Regional appellations, Crus

HOUSE WINES:

• Roland Thevenin: Red, Rose and white

VARIETAL WINES / Vin de Pays d'Oc:

• A selection of pure French varietals

Wine selection is carefully made in the different appellations. Our Burgundy appellations are mainly bought in grapes or must to the local vine growers including of course the family heirs running today the estates of Roland Thevenin.

The wines are then vinified in our modern temperature controlled vinification facilities and are then aged in oak barrels under our care and attention until they are considered ready for bottling.

CELLARS

• Oak casks maturing cellars and bottle ageing cellars are located Quai Fleury in old premises built in 1717 in the very center of NUITS SAINT GEORGES.

  DISTRIBUTION:

• Roland THÉVENIN wines are distributed exclusively in France and abroad through traditional wine merchants suppliers of the gastronomy and finest hotels and restaurants.

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