Description

Les Petit Courselle Les Copines has lovely mouthfeel, mineral notes and a moderate amount of Sauv Blanc character. However, the other two grapes temper this into a crowd-pleasing drink. The Chardonnay adds the weight and the Semillon the length. Definitely in the drink now category, and definitely ticks the ‘yum’ box.

Marie & Sylvie Courselle have taken their family estate and turned it on it’s head. Chateau Thieuley, their Entre-Deux-Mers home in Bordeaux now grows Syrah and Chardonnay. They make a blend with the traditional Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon. This means their wines bear the Vin de France appellation rather than Bordeaux. It also means they are more interesting than a large amount of Bordeaux. All the work goes into the vineyard. With sustainable practices used. In the winery it is simple: Retaining the freshness and bottle the young wine as delicious drinks.

Vin de France

The catch-all for wines that are either outside of any recognised appellation OR fail to adhere to the laws of an established appellation. It does not necessarily mean you are getting a cheap or nasty wine. In some cases, a winemaker will purposefully ‘declassify’ a wine so they can make it better than if they stayed within the appellations restricting influence.

Sauvignon Blanc

Hero to many, weed to many more. Sauvignon Blanc sure does divide people. The pure expression of Sauvignon fruit is a stunning and exuberant array of tropical fruits with ripe herbs and plant material. It excels in the chalk, clay and sand of the Loire as well as the wonderful vineyards in Bordeaux for dry white and Sauternes production where Semillon curbs its outgoing nature.

Semillon

A somewhat shy variety that is most famous for balancing Sauvignon Blanc’s overt tendencies in table wines and sauternes styles. It found a home in the Hunter where the early picked wines can live for 50 years.

Chardonnay 

The grape that you can plant anywhere, in any climate and do anything to and it will still taste like an OK wine. When people hit the sweet spot of site, climate, cropping and winemaking, Chardonnay becomes a magical wine that will age gracefully but charm you at any age. Chardonnays can range from cool climate lean and citrusy to warmer climate tropical and overt. Oak and lees can add flavouring as can malolactic fermentation.