The Domaine de Courcel, owned by the same family since its foundation 400 years ago, is located in Pommard on the Côte de Beaune, in Burgundy (France). 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. Its prestigious Pommard Premier Crus include Le Grand Clos des Epenots, Les Rugiens, Les Frémiers and Les Croix Noires. Tradition, modernism and excellence are the pillars of this family owned winery (or “Domaine”). Its wines are typical of the notorious Pommard Premier crus.
Pommard – Côte de Beaune, Burgundy – France
The Domaine
The Domaine de Courcel’s vineyard is planted on around 10.5 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.
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.
Viticulture
Soil management
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.
Pruning and picking
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.
Winemaking
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.