Pierre & Bertrand Couly, 2019 Update
Perhaps the saddest news to come out of Chinon this year was that telling us of the passing of Pierre Couly. Pierre was one of two sons born to René Couly, who arrived in Chinon from the Corrèze in the early years of the 20th century. It was René who bought up the various parcels of the Clos de l’Echo, and oversaw its replanting; at the time of its acquisition much of it had been planted with wheat. René Couly subsequently passed the family business onto his two sons, Pierre and Jacques.
In more recent times, after a difficult schism developed between the two brothers and their respective offspring, Pierre set up afresh with his son Bertrand Couly, building some snew cellars at the back of the town. The split was said to have taken a toll on Pierre’s health, which may well have been true, although I had not seen Pierre for many years. With his passing we have lost another direct connection with Chinon’s formative history. Today the domaine he established from almost nothing with Bertrand continues on without him. Bertrand now works alongside his own son, Vincent Couly, who helped in the vinification of the 2018 vintage.
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