amarchinthevines

En francais ci-dessous

It is 15 years since I first visited Jeff Coutelou in Puimisson, 12 years since we moved to the area and I began to spend much of my time at the domaine. On August 19^th 2014 I wrote the first, brief article for this blog. This article is the 500^th, time to reflect, celebrate and look forward too.

When I told Jeff that the 500 was approaching he asked me to think about what we could do to celebrate it. I suggested an interview and, as vendanges began to wind down, he took me out to lunch and we carried out a fascinating chat. It contained so much information that I will report most of what he said in the 501^st article!

In the meantime Jeff had another idea. A few months ago he purchased a foudre, a big wooden container to age wine. Jeff became convinced by the potential of a foudre when he tasted wines made in them by the likes of Michel Gahier in the Jura and Tessa Laroche at Domaine Aux Moines in Savennières. Nothing unusual you might say but this one is over a hundred years old. It came from Alsace where a winemaker was selling up. His family had used the foudre all that time and so the wood carries the memory of so many wines and so much history. After the 1870-71 Franco – Prussian War Alsace was seized by Prussia to be part of the new country of Germany. The tonnellerie (barrel maker) did not want to be German so moved to Nancy but when Alsace returned to France following World War 1 the business returned to its origins. The foudre they produced remained in the region until its move to Puimisson when its story convinced Jeff to buy it.

By coincidence this particular foudre holds 500 litres of wine, the perfect match for my landmark article. Its size means that the wine has lighter contact with the wood than the standard 250 litre barrel. He first tried it out on a 2024 Grenache Gris which had not finished its fermentation. Moved to the foudre the sugars finally relented.

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 After some of the white wines completed fermentation in stainless steel tanks Jeff asked me to choose between two of them. The Aramon Gris, Carignan Blanc blend sounded more interesting than the Macabeu of Sainte Suzanne but on tasting them I, and everyone else, agreed that the Macabeu had the structure and body which would most benefit from wood ageing. So, using suction and a simple tube, Jeff filled the foudre with the Macabeu where it will be influenced not just by the old wood but by all that history of wines and times past.

A young wine combining with old wood to create something new for the future, the analogies to my 500^th article are obvious. Let’s hope that the final wine will join the canon of memorable Coutelou wines.

In our interview Jeff and I talked much about the great changes at the winery since I first visited, the vines themselves, the cellar and equipment. What has not changed are the principles behind the winemaking. When I sat at the harvest table with Jeff, his father Jean-Claude and everyone in 2014 he told me that three things make great wine; grapes, work and love. No matter what else has changed those three underpin everything at Mas Coutelou.

I have been so fortunate to be a tiny part of what has happened at the domaine and to record its story over these last years. Great wines and ever fascinating vineyards are important to that story but our friendship and those forged with so many people who have passed through are most important of all.

Thank you for reading, I hope that you will continue to do so. Our interview will, I am sure, reward you for reading #501 as Jeff touches on the story of Mas Coutelou, the changes of the last few years, the threat of climate change, old vines and much more.

En Francais

Cela fait 15 ans que j’ai rendu visite pour la première fois chez Jeff Coutelou à Puimisson, et 12 ans que nous nous sommes installés dans la région, époque à laquelle j’ai commencé à passer une grande partie de mon temps au domaine. Le 19 août 2014, j’ai rédigé le premier, petit article de ce blog. Voici le 500e article : l’occasion de faire le point, de célébrer l’événement et de se tourner vers l’avenir.

Lorsque j’ai annoncé à Jeff que nous approchions du cap des 500 articles, il m’a demandé de réfléchir à une façon de marquer le coup. J’ai suggéré une interview ; alors que les vendanges touchaient à leur fin, il m’a invité à déjeuner et nous avons partagé une conversation passionnante. Elle était si riche en informations que je rapporterai l’essentiel de ses propos dans le 501e article !

Entre-temps, Jeff a formé une autre idée. Il y a quelques mois, il a fait l’acquisition d’un foudre. Jeff est convaincu du potentiel de ce type de récipient après avoir goûté des vins élevés en foudre par des vignerons tels que Michel Gahier, dans le Jura, et Tessa Laroche, du Domaine Aux Moines à Savennières. Rien d’insolite, direz-vous, sauf que celui-ci est centenaire. Il provenait d’Alsace, où un vigneron cessait son activité. Sa famille l’avait utilisé pendant tout ce temps ; le bois porte donc en la mémoire de tant de vins et d’une longue histoire. Après la guerre franco-prussienne de 1870-1871, le tonnelier, refusant de devenir allemand, s’installa à Nancy ; toutefois, lorsque l’Alsace revint à la France après la Première Guerre mondiale, l’entreprise retrouva ses terres d’origine. Le foudre qu’ils avaient fabriqué reste dans la région jusqu’à son transfert à Puimisson, son histoire ayant fini par convaincre Jeff de l’acheter.

Par hasard, ce foudre a une capacité de 500 litres : une coïncidence qui se marie parfaite avec mon 500e article. Sa taille implique que le vin est moins en contact avec le bois que dans une barrique classique de 250 litres. Il a d’abord fait l’essai avec un Grenache Gris 2024 dont la fermentation n’était pas encore achevée. Une fois transféré dans le foudre, la fermentation terminée. Regardez la vidéo.

Une fois la fermentation de certains vins blancs soit terminée en cuves inox, Jeff m’a demandé de choisir entre deux d’entre eux. L’assemblage Aramon Gris et Carignan Blanc semblait plus intéressant que le Macabeu de Sainte Suzanne, mais après dégustation, nous sommes tous en accord que le Macabeu possédait la structure et le corps qui profiterait le mieux d’un élevage sous bois. Ainsi, à l’aide d’un simple tuyau et par aspiration, Jeff a rempli le foudre de Macabeu ; le vin y sera façonné non seulement par le vieux bois, mais aussi par toute l’histoire des vins et des époques passées.

Un vin jeune qui s’allie au vieux bois pour créer quelque chose de nouveau pour l’avenir : le parallèle avec mon 500e article est évident. Espérons que ce vin rejoindra le panthéon des cuvées mémorables de Coutelou.

Lors de notre entretien, Jeff et moi avons beaucoup discuté des grands changements survenus au domaine depuis ma première visite : les vignes elles-mêmes, la cave et le matériel. Ce qui n’a pas changé, ce sont les principes qui régissent la vinification. En 2014, alors que j’étais assis à la table des vendanges avec Jeff, son père Jean-Claude et toute l’équipe, il m’avait confié que trois éléments font un grand vin : le raisin, le travail et l’amour. Quels que soient les autres changements, ces trois piliers restent le fondement de tout ce qui se fait au Mas Coutelou.

J’ai eu la chance de prendre une modeste part à l’aventure du domaine et d’en relater l’histoire au fil des années. Si les grands vins et les vignobles toujours fascinants y jouent un rôle essentiel, notre amitié — ainsi que celles nouées avec tant de personnes de passage — reste ce qu’il y a de plus précieux.

Merci de m’avoir lu ; j’espère que vous continuerez à le faire. Notre entretien récompensera, j’en suis sûr, votre lecture de cet article n° 501 : Jeff y évoque l’histoire du Mas Coutelou, les évolutions de ces dernières années, la menace du changement climatique, les vieilles vignes et bien plus encore.

This is the 498th article on here so forgive me if posts are fewer at present as I am trying to save #500 for something special, plans are afoot with Jeff so please look out for that.

Three days of really big crops coming into the cellar, Friday 28th, Monday 31st and September 1st. When I arrived in the Languedoc I was worried that Jeff Coutelou would be facing smallish crops due to the prolonged extreme heat of summer 2026. He told me that vines were struggling to cope and that it would impact upon the size and quality of harvest. Well, these three days allayed fears about quantities. When Flora is instructed to change the tank because the original tank is full, then it is good news. Whether the quality is there remains to be seen. Acidity levels are low, the wines won’t be peak Coutelou. With the juice that is in and fermentations kicking off nicely there should be plenty of good quality wine. As I said to Jeff, vins de plaisir (wines to enjoy soon). No doubt, being the gifted winemaker that he is, Jeff will find a way of confounding the odds and produce some special wines. My money is on the Xarel-lo so far but we shall see.

Friday was Grey Day, a harvest of grapes with Gris in their name, Piquepoul Gris, Terret Gris, Aramon Gris, Riveyrenc Gris, Grenache Gris. Bottled as Le Gris De Coeur in 2022 this could be making a comeback. The grapes were colourful and in good condition, fleshed out with some juicy Macabeu too. The Terret Gris was a little prone to rot for some reason but that was soon sorted at the table.

The afternoon saw the pickers move from Peilhan along the road to La Garrigue vineyard. Time to pick the Syrah from the older vines. Sadly the vintage issues means that this will be another year without La Vigne Haute but the Syrah is always good whether bottled under its own name or On Peut Pas Vraiment Dire Que. The grapes were in excellent condition, Syrah bunches are usually compact, conical and firm. They took little sorting but with a double team of pickers we were under pressure to sort and send to tank.

Monday was centred at Segrairals vineyard, closest to the village and cellars. It kicked off with that most generous of grapes, Cinsault. Big bunches, big juicy grapes but with thin, fine skins which means that it has to be picked at the right moment or it will soon turn rotten. This first crop of the day went to direct press, possibly for rosé? Then onto a really interesting collection of white grapes. Terret Blanc, Olivette, Servant, Picardan, Mauzac, Aramon Gris, Clairette, Clairette Rose. Bottled as TSCA (the 2025 tastes fabulous, can’t wait for its release) these were a joy to work with, variety keeping us guessing whilst Jeff confirmed or denied our guesses as to which grapes were which.

The afternoon brought more Cinsault, this time from the better parcel and ready to be destemmed. It was plump and ready, a few more days and it would have been spoiled. Lovely fruit and it should be an ingredient in blends such as Le Vin Des Amis or in its own 5SO format.

After all that variety on Monday it was just two grapes that featured on Tuesday. The morning saw the pickers head to Sainte Suzanne vineyard and the Clairette grapes. This vineyard was affected by the heavy rains of winter, it has an underground stream beneath and so the ground remained wet for months. It was May before Jeff and the team could get in there to prune, tidy and protect the vines. The Macabeu vines have suffered as a result but the Clairette has thrived, no doubt to make its own eponymous cuvée.

In the afternoon attention switched back to La Garrigue vineyard but this time for the Grenache from the south facing slope. This was bountiful and we filled the original tank and more. I also learned something new. The Grenache often looks varied in colour, even within one bunch from dark purple to greenish. Jeff explained that Grenache flowers at 2 or 3 different times in Spring and so when the grapes ripen they are at varying stages of ripeness. It is just the nature of the variety. Well, this crop will certainly provide good fruit for blending (Classe for example) and, hopefully, might make one of my favourite wines, Grenache Mise De Printemps, with its light, fresh and fruity character.

We are entering yet another heatwave in the Languedoc, the 8th or 9th of 2026 and temperatures of 36c or more make harvest hot and tiring work. Fortunately the good humour of the team, supplemented by another New York arrival, Aldo, make sure that we can get through the challenge and produce some good wines for you all to enjoy.

In a world of uncertainty and unhappiness, moments of pleasure and joy feel all the more precious. They deserve to be appreciated in the moment and cherished in the memory. One such occasion came recently during a short stay in Nice.

I asked Jeff Coutelou to recommend a wine bar / restaurant in the city. His reply was clear and unequivocal, La Part Des Anges, 17 Rue Gubernatis.

Coutelou bottles everywhere

I would urge any wine loving visitor to Nice to go, the food was exceptional: fresh, full of flavour, great ingredients allowed to speak clearly for themselves. The cellar is a treasure trove, indeed it was selected as the best in France by Revue du Vin De France. Browsing the wine list online Ione entry leaped off the page: Domaine Des Miroirs, perhaps the most sought after and elusive unicorn producer in the natural wine world.

Back in 2016 at The Real Wine Fair I was very fortunate to attend a tasting of the Miroirs range which was amazing. Every bottle was pure joy; clean, pure, perfectly balanced between fruit and freshness. I am sometimes asked to name the best wines I have ever tasted and the Miroirs ‘Sonorité Du Vent 2013’ is always my choice for white wine. Pure Chardonnay it was ethereal, subtle yet full, mineral yet rounded – a wine in perfect harmony.

I remember winemaker Kenjiro Kagami, who runs the domaine with his wife Mayumi, as shy, smiling and somewhat bemused by all the plaudits on the day. His wines spoke for him. Unfortunately for me those wines had already begun to be praised far and wide. With just 4ha of vines and huge, global demand it became almost impossible to get hold of a bottle, any bottle, of Miroirs wine. Prices soared past 500€ on grey markets while Kagami himself sadly receives only a fraction of that.

Kenjiro Kagami in 2016 and with Jura wine expert Wink Lorch

Seeing bottles on the LPDA wine list was a surprise but so too was the price, at well below those grey market prices. On my first visit I mentioned this whilst admiring the shelves stocked with so many bottles I would love to try. To my astonishment Olivier said that that occasionally he was able to source a bottle and made a call. No doubt my association with Jeff opened that door. When I returned three days later I was still doubtful but there it was waiting for me.

Not the AOC Côtes Du Jura Sonorité du Vent but Mizuiro Les Saugettes 2021, a Vin De France. This comes from the highest of the domaine’s Chardonnay vineyards rather than the lower slopes of the AOC vineyard. The grapes are fermented in old French oak, aged 14 months on lees with gentle bâtonnage, building complexity through that quiet, careful élevage.

The wine itself was electric, tingling on the tongue with lime and spice, cleansing the palate, lingering long after swallowing. Thrilling. Perhaps not quite the concentration of Sonorité perhaps being from those higher vineyards, but still one of the finer white wines I can recall. I’m aware that I wanted the wine to be good, my expectations were sky-high, ten years of hope will do that – but this wine met them and then surpassed them. Conscious bias or not, it was a great wine.

My thanks to Olivier, Benjamin and all the team at La Part Des Anges, and to the Kagamis, for allowing me to complete a quest a decade in the making.

*Mizuiro means clear blue