Domaine Font de Courtedune

Located in the Southern Rhone, Domaine Font de Courtedune has been a family estate for three generations. Perhaps the most profound statement is being made today by the current generation, Caroline and Frédéric Charrier. Inspired in part by the success of their highly acclaimed neighbour, Chateau Rayas, the family decided in 1998 to discontinue its practice of selling grapes to the cooperative and to build their own family label. A new cellar was built and Caroline has taken over the role of winemaker, having learned her craft from personal experience with family as well as through the Beaune wine school. Unlike some modernists in the region, Caroline ferments wines with stalks intact. The wines are aged only in concrete vessels, and finally bottled un-fined and unfiltered. The result are wines of immense finesse, great freshness and balance, and an almost crunchy texture. The Domaine covers just 3,5 hectares in AOC Chateauneuf du Pape, 4 ha. in Cotes du Rhone Village and 10 ha. in Cotes du Rhone. The Domaine’s vines are quite old (in particular, one ha. in Chateauneuf du Pape is over 90 yrs old) and the average age of vines in Cotes du Rhone Village is 50 years, while in Cotes du Rhone the average age is 40 years.