Photo via Crush and Press.
Text via Vos Selections.
The origins of the Courbis family estate date back to the 16th century. More recently, the brothers Dominique and Laurent Courbis have succeeded their father, Maurice, who was the mayor of Chateaubourg, their hometown. The estate owns 20 hectares divided as follows: 3 ha in Cornas, 4 ha of St Joseph Blanc, and 13 hectares of St Joseph Rouge. The holdings include the steep terraced cru “Les Royes,” on south-east facing limestone soils at the southern limit of the St. Joseph appellation and two very small, steep terraced parcels in Cornas — La Sabarotte and Champelrose — with extremely old vines on granite soils.
All the grapes are harvested by hand and yields are kept to an average of 30 hl/ha. The fruit is 100% destemmed and the maceration period for the Syrahs lasts between two and three weeks. The wines mature in oak casks which are new or up to three years old. The red wines are fined with egg whites but not filtered and are bottled between two and three years of the harvest.
The wines of the Courbis estate are some of the most compelling examples of St. Joseph and Cornas being made today. The Courbis brothers have combined their long family experience with a modern style and this has earned them international recognition. Robert Parker sums it up in his book on Rhone wines: “Courbis is a name to watch in the Northern Rhone.” Courbis wines regularly receive rave reviews in Wine Spectator, International Wine Cellar, The Wine Advocate and Revue du Vin de France.
