Chateau Coujan - La Pinot Noir VDF 2024 750ml (13% ABV)

Chateau Coujan is a fifth-generation family winery located near Saint Chinian in the South of France which came to us through our fellow Saint Chinian producer, Jean-Marie Rimbert.

The Guy family has owned this vineyard since 1868, and Florence, the current owner, is the fifth generation. She took over the domaine from her father and converted the winery to organics in 2008. A new environmental balance gradually emerged in the 140-hectare property (including 50 ha of vineyards) with insects, butterflies, birds, vines, orchards, medicinal plants, fields, and scrublands, turning the Chateau Coujan into an oasis of biodiversity.

Florence is in charge of a team that works very hard to manage all that land, including her daughter, and her boyfriend who is the chef de cave, as well as pruning and tractor driving teams. The property has a lot of wildlife, including as many as 70 peacocks, their mascot.

The name of this cuvée is a play on words: lapinot means young rabbit in French, a fitting name for this joyful and thirst-quenching incarnation of Pinot Noir.

clay and limestone with pebbles, vines planted in 1990. Estate-owned and farmed organically by Florence and her team

light bodied, Bing cherry, strawberry, hints of forest floor, bright acidity, soft and subtle tannins, great with a slight chill

region: Occitanie, near Saint Chinian (Languedoc-Roussillon) France

varietal: Pinot Noir

style: light red

farming/cellar: organic, the grapes are destemmed and crushed. Short maceration and spontaneous fermentation at controlled temperature in concrete tanks. Bottled in the following spring, lightly filtered with a small addition of sulfur. 

pairing: chilled or unchilled all summer long!