Buvez du Vin Naturel de Jeff Coutelou!

2/28/23 -

It's Coutelou time! Jean-Francois "Jeff" Coutelou has been producing some of the most delicious and vibrant natural wines coming from the Languedoc and we couldn't be happier about the 2021 wines that have just arrived in New York. The estate has been in the family for four generations, organic since 1987, and selling to the local co-op until 1996, when the Mas Coutelou project was born. French locals and some lucky folks around the world have all been drinking better since then!

Prior to 1987 the winery had 20ha (~50 acres) of conventionally farmed vines and the wines, according to Jeff, were rigid, heavily extracted, and forced. Beginning that year they decided to work without chemicals and to treat their vines with organic remedies only when necessary.

Today the estate is a bit less than 13 hectares (~32 acres) comprised of separate parcels of traditional Languedoc varieties and some long forgotten selection massale cépages on clay and limestone. In places where vines were too compromised by conventional farming, there are now a bevy of olive trees, shurbs, and protective hedges. All of the work is done manually, with careful attention to biodiversity and reducing impact on local eco-systems. The cellar work is equally thoughtful. His vinification methods and vessels vary depending on variety and vintage in order to promote the purest expression of each; but he always uses indigenous yeasts and never adds SO2 (even for his sweet wines).

Today's offer is a sampling of some of the hits of 2021, exhibiting the hallmarks of the Coutelou style: Real deal Languedoc authenticity, vibrant, lifted acidity, rustic garrigue-driven flavors, and always a soft elegance that one could argue is often missing from some of the contrived natural wines hitting the market as of late. These are what some would call "real wines" or "living wines." Do they have cute labels and fit the natural wine vibe? for sure, but more importantly they speak of a place, and excite the palate with intriguing aromatics, lovely concentration and balance.