Domaine de Courbissac 'Les Farradjales' Minervois AOP 2017

Reinhard Brundig and Brunnhilde Claux celebrate the wild qualities and long history of the domaine they run. Courbissac sits in the natural amphitheater that is the Minervois, situated between the Massif Central to the north and the Pyrenees to the south. The area’s soils consist of limestone and marl: alluvial runoff from the nearby Montagne Noire. The property abounds with the tangle of herbs and shrubs known in the south of France as garrigue, a mix that includes thyme, lavender, sea buckthorn, as well as olive trees. That herbal, floral richness makes its way into this beautiful cinsault, hand-harvested from 70-year-old vines. Brunnhilde uses traditional vinification practices in making all of her wines, including whole-cluster fermentation and indigenous yeasts. This wine aged for six months in large terracotta vessels, before further aging in the bottle. Floral, easy-going, earthy, and alive on the palate, this is a delightful wine that manages to be both rustic and complex. Organically and biodynamically grown, low-intervention/natural wine.