Domaine de la Grande Courraye Côtes de Bordeaux Castillon 2012
The Dupuy family has been in the village of Puisseguin since the Middle Ages. Marceau Dupuy, both a doctor and a man of politics, purchased Chateau Beauséjour, located right in the center of the village, in 1934. It remains today as it was then, 18 hectares of vineyard on the clay and limestone plateau of Saint Emilion planted with 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Marceau’s son Alain, upon returning from the war in 1945, took control over Beauséjour as well as another family property, Chateau Langlais. This second estate, belonging to Alain’s maternal grandfather, is also located in the appellation of Puisseguin St Emilion. The vineyards, 12 hectares in all, lie just east of Chateau Beauséjour and are planted with Merlot (70%), Cabernet Franc (25%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (5%).
Alain Dupuy learned the “ancestral” methods of his grandfather for taking care of the vines. Before there was an official doctrine and the accepted term “organic” viticulture there were vignerons who eschewed the use of new chemical products becoming available as options for treating pests and illnesses in the vineyards. It is truly rare today to discover vineyards that have literally never been subjected to any chemical pesticide or herbicide. Stroll through the vineyards at either Beauséjour or Langlais and you will quickly see that there is a complete and harmonious ecosystem in place. In the spring, each year, there are fragile tulips growing among the vines, a clear sign that there is balance and life in the soils.
Today it is Gerard Dupuy, Alain’s son, who is continuing the family’s rich history in Puisseguin St Emilion. Upon arriving on the scene in 1995 he immediately applied to Ecocert for organic certification in order to validate the work of his father and grandfather before him. Gerard also expanded his vineyard holding with the purchase of two estates, Clos du Moulin in Bergerac and Domaine de la Grande Courraye in Castillon. The latter is certified organic while the former is currently in conversion.
Vinification for every wine that Gerard makes adheres to certified organic guidelines. There is never chaptalization nor acidification and nothing is ever added to or removed from the wine. A 48 hour cold soaking before a 2-3 week low temperature natural yeast fermentation is the house style. For the Chateaux Beauséjour and Langlais wines are aged between 12-24 months in oak, 30% of which is new.
