Claude and Etienne Courtois

 

The name Domaine Les Cailloux du Paradis comes from ‘Les Cailloux’ and ‘Le Paradis,’ naming the region of the Loire Valley where the family’s 20 hectares sit. Of their land, only six hectares contain vines, with the rest a rich melange of meadows (including wheat to feed their cows), forest and fruit orchards planted with apple, pear and plum trees. In the vineyards, flint clay soil on ancient limestone bedrock lends itself to strong, resilient and deep-rooted vines — an environment that has allowed Claude Courtois to build a trailblazing domaine that showcases profound diversity.

Beginning his work over 45 years ago with vines in Provence, Claude Courtois is one of the rare pioneers of organic agriculture from the who has been active since the 1970’s. In just the past 25 years he has planted 34 different red and white varieties on his six hectares, including rare grapes and experimental hybrids — with a mind to environmental sustainability amid a changing climate; and to stewardship of genetic lineages that are at risk. Claude regards the soil on his farm as a living organism: no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, or synthetic chemicals of any kind are allowed on the vines or in the soil of the vineyards.

Claude has passed more and more of the winemaking responsibilities on to his son Etienne, who showed immense promise from the start through wines that burst with new energy while following the patience and restraint of his father’s long-standing successful project — aging, for example, certain cuvées for anywhere from 4 to 10 years. Etienne let us know that he’s recently added amphora and sandstone vessels to the mix alongside to the family’s 30-year-old oak barrels. He has also released several cuvées with minimal aging, and we’re excited by the freshness and higher acidity that these wines bring to the Courtois portfolio!

Certification: Biodynamic (Nature & Progrès).

Read an excellent piece in Vogue magazine featuring Claude Courtois here. 

Bert Celce on Courtois:

www.wineterroirs.com

• Quartz VDP de Sologne
• Racines
• Cuvée des Etourneaux
• Plume d’ange
• Romorantin
• Icaunais
• Or’norm
• Evidence
• Camille
• Secalaunia
• Racines Blanc
• Le Pinot Noir

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Quartz :— Back to the top

Quartz tech sheet

Age of Vines: 15 years

Yields: 25 hl/ha

Soil: Clay and limestone

Varieties: 40% Sauvignon; 60% Menu Pineau

Vinification Method: Grapes are harvested and sorted entirely by hand, then direct-pressed in the family’s 100-year-old manual press. Spontaneous fermentation. Aged 18 months.

Tasting Note: Golden straw in the glass with shimmering pale highlights. The nose offers sliced apple & poached pear backed by apple chutney spiced with brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon & allspice. The palate is very nutty, with a firm acidity. Yellow Apple flavors follow through and are joined by marzipan, hazelnut & hints of warm caramel. The wine finishes long and vibrant, with great mineral and core fruit presence, and a lingering inner mouth perfume of pear eau de vie. This is a truly outstanding and complex wine.

Quartz drinks well in its youth, however decanting is highly recommended. The wine also shows aging potential up to a decade. 

Pairing: Serve with grilled sausage, braised pork loin or grilled pork chops, savory chicken dishes, paté, cured meats & young or aged mild cheeses on rustic bread.

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Racines Rouge :— Back to the top

Grapes: A blend of 19 red grapes from the vineyards. Abouriou, Genouillet, Portugais Bleu, Barbera, Nebbiolo, César, Chaudenay, Cabernet franc, Grolleau, Syrah, Gascon, Gamay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot d’Aunis, Pinot Noir, Côt and some experimental hybrid varieties.

Age of Vines: 5-15 years

Yields: 18-25 hl/ha 

Soil: Clay and limestone

Vinification Method: Grapes are harvested and sorted entirely by hand, then macerated for several days before pressing with the family’s 100-year-old manual press. Spontaneous fermentation. Aged 30 months (2.5 years).

Personality: All the complexity that biodiversity can provide a wine. Racines is Claude’s attempt at creating a wine the way Burgundy was made a hundred years ago, from many different varieties. Racines is a rediscovery, a realization of what great wine once was!

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Cuvée des Etourneaux :— Back to the top

Etourneaux tech sheet

Etourneaux means starlings in French, referring to the birds that ate the entire harvest in 2001. The parcel is surrounded by fruit trees, creating a living ecosystem with beautiful biodiversity.

Soil: Limestone

Grapes: Gamay and Gamay Chaudenay (a very rare form of gamay that is semi-tenturier, or red-juiced)

Vinification Method: Grapes are harvested and sorted entirely by hand, then macerated for several days before pressing with the family’s 100-year-old manual press. Spontaneous fermentation. Aged 18 to 30 months.

Personality: fruity but tense and mineral, reminiscent of a great Pinot with the perfect balance and energy.

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Plume d’ange— Back to the top

Plume d’ange tech sheet

Age of Vines: 8-10 years

Yields: 40 hl/ha

Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay

Vinification: The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed and gently pressed. 18 months in barrels.

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Romorantin— Back to the top 

Grape: Romorantin

Age of Vines: 8-10 years

Yields: 40 hl/ha

Soil: Limestone

Vinification: Grapes are harvested and sorted entirely by hand, then direct-pressed in the family’s 100-year-old manual press. Spontaneous fermentation. Aged 40 months (just over 3 years).

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L’Icaunais— Back to the top 

Icaunais is the local name for the grape variety gascon, a practically unknown local grape variety. The Gascon vines at Domaine Les Cailloux du Paradis are among the last existing 5 hectares in the world.

Grape: Gascon

Age of Vines: 8-10 years

Yields: 40 hl/ha

Vinification: Grapes are harvested and sorted entirely by hand, then macerated for several days before pressing with the family’s 100-year-old manual press. Spontaneous fermentation. Aged 30 months (2.5 years).