Awards and Accolades

90 Points - Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
"This brilliantly-priced red offers fragrant aromas of dark berry, raspberry, toasted almond, game and floral on the nose. The palate is equally attractive, displaying juicy fruit intensity and rounded mouthfeel, nicely supported by smooth texture and polished tannins. Modern, flavoursome and very likable. At its best: now to 2019."

90 Points - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
"This is a good way to spend 20 bucks. It’s a lively red, berried, spicy, slightly smoky/clovey/meaty but basically fruit-driven, ripe and bright. There’s a slip of tannin but it’s gum-smooth, almost satiny, or perhaps coated-in-fruit is a better way to describe it. No complaints or surprises here. Just good drinking in a medium-weight manner. Just enough ‘interest’ too."

About the Vineyard

Les Courtilles (a series of small courtyards) is named after the village winery founded in 1997 by Bernard Schurr. The 2011 Les Courtilles Cotes du Rhone is sourced from 35 year old vines on the right bank of the Rhone between Orange and Avignon.

A core blend (80%) of primarily Grenache was hand-harvested and de-stemmed before a long cold soak and fermentation in small concrete vats, pumped over twice daily. Transferred to a stainless steel tank to finish fermentation before blending with a component (20%) of barrel-matured Cotes de Rhone Villages fruit from the Plan de Dieu, adding depth, complexity and structure to the wine whilst increasing cellaring potential.

Following an excellent spring the southern Rhone, like much of France, endured a cold and wet summer which limited yields and demanded much diligence from the vignerons. A warm and dry August and the consistent mistral wine saved the vintage, so much so that the harvest arrived exactly on time. Slightly more sorting was required than on average but the final selection was very good, medium bodied in weight but with excellent flavour and balance.