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Pierre et Bertrand Couly

Although he still owns half of Couly-Dutheil, Pierre Couly was thrown out by his brother Jacques when the latter took control of the family business ten years ago. It is not quite fratricide, but it was particularly odd because both were near the age of retirement when it happened.

With three hectares from Domaine Farou, his wife’s estate, Pierre and his son Bertrand started over. A decade later, they now have 20, exclusively on the plateau above Chinon. Including the grapes that they buy from their winemaker, father and son now produce about 120,000 bottles a year in a red tower outside of town that is, with the vineyards planted above the fermentation cellars, all part of their marketing concept. A bus with a tour group from Holland was parked outside when I arrived on the last day of harvest.

“We don’t use any wood,” explained Bertrand, “because we want the fruit to shine unblemished. When I was at Couly-Dutheil, Jacques forced me to use oak, but stopped when he saw what we were doing here.” One difference, though, remains quite apparent. This estate does not go overboard with late harvests. None of the wines here have more than 13% alcohol, which is well below the 14.5% found in his cousin’s most expensive wines. “We want to remain Loire,” Bertrand added.

From Loire Valley Cabernet Franc (Dec 2014) by Joel B. Payne

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2012 Chinon La Haute Olive

Color: Red

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2012 Chinon La Haute Olive

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