Marie and Sylvie Courselle are two sisters most certainly doing it for themselves, not afraid to break from tradition in order to create truly tasty wines. A short 25 km from Bordeaux, the Courselle vineyard is located at Chateau Thieuley, the historic family property on the clay and limestone hills of Entre-dux-Mers. From growing up in the region, and studying their craft, to travelling widely abroad, the Courselle sisters came to have a deep understanding of the complexities of the family vineyard, and also its potential. They wanted to make wines to reflect their values, while show their great pride in their family history at Chateau Thieuley and pay tribute to the knowledge they learned from their parents.

Although many people in Bordeaux though they were rebels, the young Courselle sisters convinced their father to plant Syrah vines to blend with the traditional Cabernet Franc, Merlot. And while they were at it, Chardonnay to blend with the local Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. A risk that has paid off handsomely.

Marie and Sylvie have also worked hard to obtain their sustainable certification from Terra Vitis, working to ensure vineyard health and vitality that shines through in the end result. These two wines "Les copains" (the boy mates) and "Les copines" (the girl mates) reflect who they are - these are happy and festive wines to be shared! As the Courselle sisters always say "don’t forget, empty glasses remain full of memories!". We couldn't agree more.

The white is crisp, fresh and balanced with a lovely juicy texture. White flowers aromas. Notes of ripe peach, mango and passion fruits.

The red is light bodied, bright and filled with red fruits. Very friendly strawberries aromas with a spicy finish. It's a smashable red that can be served chilled on a hot day.

Courselle sustainable high-density vineyard is averaging 5,500 vines per hectare which is almost double the region‘s average. Sustainable certified (Terra Vitis), grass grows between rows to create moderate water stress. Canopy management, leaf plucking, and green harvest are essential for better sun exposure of the grapes. Grapes are machine harvested in the morning. Whites are vinified with cold maceration on the skin, pneumatic pressing under inert gas, cool temperature fermentation and then ageing on lees in thermo-regulated stainless steel vats. Reds go through cold pre-ferment maceration, cool fermentation, then short ageing in stainless steel tanks. Quiet a modern winemaking style, but gosh how good is the result?! These two wines bring some fresh thinking to the region, and they are probably showing one of the best the value for quality in Bordeaux.

“Le Petit Courselle red: Winemaking sisters from Bordeaux breaking all the rules. They planted syrah, now they blend those grapes where the Bordelais say they shouldn’t be blended. They eschew excess oak and overt winemaking intervention. Even the label is of another oeuvre. They are rebels, I tell ya. Here’s a blend of cabernet franc, merlot and syrah. Better believe it. Light on the fizz so you can slam it down fast. What a breath of fresh Entre-Deux-Mers air. - Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.

 

"Le Petit Courselle white: Here, chardonnay joins sauvignon blanc and Semillon with skin contact during cold fermentation. Plenty of interest and joyous drinking to be had here and outstanding value.” - Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.

Red grapes: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah
White grapes: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay

​marieetsylviecourselle.com

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