Arnaud Couly, the winemaker at Domaine
Couly-Dutheil has assembled another fabulous
cuvee! It's all Cabernet Franc, the grape
of the best red wines from the Loire Valley.
You know, the longer I drink wine, the more
reds from the Loire end up in my glass. These
wines have a purity about them that I love.
There are no sharp edges. They are not heavy,
yet they are substantial and bursting with
red berry flavors. To say nothing about their
affordability. No wonder it is a Parisian
favorite.
La Coulee Automnale is made
from a combination of hillside and table land
from the western side of Chinon. The soil is
gravelly. The grapes are farmed using a "bio"
agricultural system, including a manual
harvest (to protect the grapes and eliminate
stems &
leaves). The wine is aged for 10 months in
stainless
steel tanks. There is no use of oak barrels
to mask the
pure
fruit flavors.
This wine will fill your mouth with red fruit
flavors and please your nose with that seductive
aroma
that only Cabernet Franc can deliver. I
associate it with the smell of wood fires as
you only smell in those small beautiful
villages in France, like Chinon, in the
Autumn. Others say it reminds them of the
days of yore when we used to jump in huge
piles of fall leaves and then burn them
curbside. Whatever it is, it is one
satisfying glass of wine!
I like to drink this wine when it's fresh and
young - within 3 or 4 years from the harvest.
I dare you to save even one bottle
that long. Cynthia Hurley
