| Clos des Brusquières Owner: Claude Courtil
Thibaut
Address: Rue Ville Vieille 84230 Chateauneuf du Pape.
Tel. 490 83 74 47
Direct sale: Monday - Saturday 9.00-12.00 and 14.00-18.00
The domain covers 9 ha. of Chateauneuf du Pape.
It was founded by Claude's great grandfather.
About 1900 his grandfather
was one of few in the town to bottle the wine calling it Clos Courtil.
Until 1996 a great part of the production was sold to negociants.
Today the two sons Davis and Jêrome are having
education in direction of being able to take over some day in the future.
The vinification is traditional traditionel.
Normally no destalking. Fermentation in cement tanks.
Grenache is aged in cementtank and Syrah and mourvedre in barrels.
Chateauneuf du Pape
60% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 10%
Mourvedre.
An English importer The Big Red
Wine Company: tells about
Claude:
"Virtually a
brand new estate! Claude Courthil sold everything off to negociants until
the 1996 vintage, the first to be estate bottled, depriving the world of a good
source of good quality, inexpensive, ultra-traditionally made
Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Claude is something of a loner,
spending most of his time quietly in the fields or at the winery, gradually
improving the quality of his small production. Most of his eight and a half
hectares is to the north of the village on stony soil. An indication of Claude's
reserve, we learnt after we had already purchased a parcel of his wines that
Claude's uncle is the legendary Henri Bonneau, one of the most revered
winemakers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The relationship between Claude and Henri is
strong as he is not only his uncle but his master as well. Claude told us he
learned everything from his uncle. Henri taught him all about the growth of the
plant, the importance of manual work of the ground and the vines, the
vinification in respect of natural processes, ageing, everything!"
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