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Domaine de la Courtade

Domaine de la Courtade has a fascinating location, being one of just thee estates on the Ile de Porquerolles, the largest of the Iles de Hyères. This is a group of three tiny islands off the coast of Provence, accessible by ferry from Le Lavandou or Toulon-Hyères. The estate was purchased by Henri Vidal in 1979, who employed Dijon graduate Richard Authur to develop and maintain a vineyard. After clearing the scrub to reveal the schist beneath, Authur planted 12 hectares of Mourvèdre, which accounts for 97% of Domaine de la Courtade's red grapes, together with Grenache, and Rolle, which forms the backbone of the domaine's white wines. An olive grove of 800 trees was also added to the estate.

The harvest is manual, with extensive destemming of fruit, temperature controlled fermentation, and up to nine months in oak thereafter for whites, up to eighteen for reds. The flagship red and white wines are La Courtade, the former a 100% Mourvèdre cuvée made using low yields, typically less than 35 hl/ha. The white is Rolle, harvested at 40 hl/ha. There are also white, red and rosé wines bottled under the L'Alycastre label. (11/4/05)

Contact details:
Address: route de Saint-Canadet, 13610 Le-Puy-Sainte-Réparade
Telephone: +33 (0) 4 42 61 97 66
Fax: +33 (0) 4 42 61 84 45
Internet: www.la-courtade.com

Domaine de la Courtade - Tasting Notes

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1997

Domaine de la Courtade Côtes de Provence 'La Courtade' 1997: Just early maturity on inspection. Dark, muted fruit on the nose, with smoky character and some acetic notes. Cool, balanced mouthfeel, but again showing some obvious acetic acid on midpalate, and dominating the finish. The elegant weight fails to compensate. Not the character I would expect from this highly regarded estate - I suspect bacterial contamination. No score. (April 2005)