Domaine de Courcel

The Domaine de Courcel is a 400 year old family owned winery, located in the village of Pommard on the Côte d’Or. Its current owners, three sisters and one brother, are the descendants of the founders. The estate is managed by Anne Bommelaer and Marie de Courcel.

Pommard is four kilometers south-east of Beaune. The vines span on the southern « coteaux » (hillsides) of the Côte de Beaune, where is located one of the most prestigious vine-growing areas.

The Domaine de Courcel’s vineyard is planted on around 9.5 hectares. It produces one of the highest quality red wines of the Côte de Beaune. Its red wines, made from Pinot Noir, can be characterised by their elegance and minerality as well as their strong tannins, which blend in nicely with strong and beautiful aromas of red berries and toasted bread.

The vineyard is essentially composed of prestigious « Premier Crus ». As such, the Domaine is one of the largest estates of « Pommard Premier Crus ». The vineyard is composed of the following appellations : Le Grand Clos des Epenots, Les Rugiens, Les Frémiers, Les Croix Noires.

These four Premier Crus enjoy worldwide notoriety. Le Grand Clos des Epenots, which accounts for 50% of the Domaine’s production, and Les Rugiens are in a class of their own in Burgundy.

The Domaine also produces a Pommard Vaumuriens, a Bourgogne Pinot Noir as well as a Bourgogne Chardonnay.

Annual production, which never exceeds around 30 000 bottles, is sold throughout the world. The wines produced by the Domaine are frequently mentioned and reviewed in leading French or international wine publications.

Le Grand Clos des Epenots is a monopoly of the Domaine. The plot of 4.89 hectares of land is located north of Pommard, at the start of the slope and is east facing. The soil, which is rich in clay and limestone, is brown and strewn with limestone rocks. The depth of the soil is around 40-60cm and its structure acts as a natural filter. The vines are ~60 years old and produce wines with aromas of red berries and also ripe white fruits such as peaches or apricots. The fine tannins are numerous and blend in nicely with the smoothness and the aromas.

The Rugiens (1.07 ha) are located mid hill on the southern slopes, in between Pommard and Volnay. The ground, where both marlstone and clay can be found, is composed of a wide variety of soil. The superior part of the plot has a light (0.2m) soil of marlstone while the inferior part is reddish-brown and deeper (0.8-1m). The land is east facing. The vines are all around 60 years of age. The wines produced are spicy; sweet spices such as cloves. The wines, which are fine and very aerial, are both elegant and concentrated. The tannins, the aromas of blackberry and very ripe raspberry enhance a long finish.
To be served at 15°C.
 

LES FRÉMIERS

The Frémiers (0,79 ha) are located south of Pommard, right below the Rugiens, at the start of the slope. The red and brown soil, which is rich with both clay and limestone, is deeper (0.6-0.8m) than that of the Rugiens. The wines produced are very elegant and sophisticated. The aromas that can be identified lean towards fine spices and cooked fruits such as prunes. The tannins are very refined.
To be served at 15°C.
 

LES CROIX NOIRES

The Croix Noires (0.58h) are also located below the Rugiens, adjacent to the Frémiers on the north side. The Domaine owns more than half of the total surface of the appellation. Although situated close to the Frémiers, the soil here is deeper (0.8m) and more claey. The vines are east facing and all around 40 years of age. The wines produced have strong aromas leaning towards very ripe black cherry and also enjoy marked tannins.
To be served at 15°C.
 

LES VAUMURIENS

The Vaumuriens are an appelation « Village » (1.44 ha) located just above the Rugiens. The white soil is not very deep (0,3-0,4m) and is north east facing. The vine is around 40 years of age and produces spicy wines with aromas leaning towards cassis and white fruits, such as mango.
To be served at 15°C.
 

BOURGOGNE PINOT NOIR

The Bourgogne Pinot Noir is adjacent to the appellation Pommard. The brown soil originates from the coteaux and builds up at the bottom of the slope on flatter grounds. The depth of the soil can reach up to 1m. The presence of rocks enables a thorough filtration of the soil. The vines are 40 years of age and produce wine that is close in many characteristics to the Pommard Village, but with a greater focus on red or even black fruits. This enables the wines to be more open when young.
To be served at 15°C.
 
 

BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY

The Bourgogne Chardonnay was planted in 2000. The red brown soil produces wines with aromas of honey, dried fruit and candied fruit. Its colour is golden while its softness confers a long finish.
To be served at 10-12°C.

The Domaine de Courcel is still owned and run by the founding family. It has always produced wines with strong tannins and great density, something that is rare on the Côte de Beaune.

Since 1996, with the help of the oenologist Yves Confuron, the Domaine has worked on increasing the intensity of its wines and the specificities of the various “terroirs”, while maintaining their elegance.

The Domaine has developed a unique know-how, combining both traditional and modern methods for the vineyard, the wine making and maturing (“élevage”). The techniques used respect both the “terroirs” and the environment.

Ground work

The soil is ploughed to favour intense biological activity, which enables the vines to better assimilate the minerals of the soil. The ploughing also helps the root of the vine penetrate deeper into the ground for a better expression of the terroir.

Vine pruning and late harvest

The ripeness of the grape is optimised. Each vine is pruned so that each grape receives sufficient nourishment. De-budding and green harvesting in early August further enhance this delicate equilibrium. The final harvest is done relatively late so that the September sunshine increases the sugar intensity.

Low temperature maceration and fermentation

The wine making is done over a period of one month. After a very thorough selection, grapes are delicately deposited in a wine vat. Cold maceration followed by low-temperature fermentation enables a better extraction of the aromas of the wine. Delicate reassembly in the wine vat is done to enhance the colour and the tannins. The process ends with a final post -fermentation carbonic maceration adapted to each cuvée.

Long wine maturing in oak barrels

The maturing of the wine is done in carefully selected oak barrels, which are replaced by third each year. After a one month extraction, the wine is matured during a period of 21 to 23 months. After racking (“sous-tirage”), the wines are bottled without any treatment or manipulation.

The management of the vineyard aims to limit the output to around 25hl/ha (30,000 bottles a year) and to work towards optimised ripeness.