Benoît Courault ‘La Coulée’ Rouge NV (2020)

Location: France, Loire

Winemaker: Benoît Courault

Grapes: Grolleau, Pineau d’Aunis

Soil: Ordovicien schistes locally called “schistes gréseux de Saint Georges” with veins of phtanites (a silica-rich sedimentary rock) and quartz

Winemaking: 70% Grolleau, 30% Pineau d’Aunis fermented whole-cluster with 12 days of maceration in fiberglass. Fermented with native yeasts; unfined, unfiltered, no SO2. Vinified without temperature control in fiberglass vats, aged in the same vessels and without any sulfur additions. No fining and no filtration.

From us at M&L: ‘La Coulée’ 202 was a fantastic vintage for Benoît; the grapes ripened very slowly and were able to develop beautiful fruited nuance and floral qualities. Sumptuous, velvety textures yield lighter elements of rosepetal, crushed blueberry and prune, spiced dark chocolate and blood orange. Drink at the end a long day by a fireplace.

From the Importer Avant Garde: Benoit Courault is a young and established vigneron in Faye d’Anjou, a little village south of Angers along the Layon river. Not a son of a winemaker, early on, Ben decided to study wine. He went to Beaune. From 2003 until 2006, he worked with the famous vigneron Eric Pfifferling from Domaine L’Anglore in Tavel.

Back to his native Loire, he found 5ha of vineyards and started his estate in 2006. Benoit’s aim is to propose authentic wines of excellent quality produced with a constant concern for the natural balance of life cycles, a statement that you will find on his label “Vignes cultives dans le respect du vivant”.