Château Courac Blanc, Laudun Côtes du Rhône-Villages 2023 - Half Dozen

Aurélien Chirat is a fourth-generation family member at this domaine which is situated on the hillside village of St-Michel sur Rhône, right in the heart of Condrieu. He started working on the family estate in 2008 having studied in Dijon, completed a six-month stint in New Zealand at Te Kairanga, Martinborough and worked at various estates in the Rhône.

The domaine started back in 1925, selling barrels of wine to restaurants and Aurélien’s grandfather was a cousin of the late, great Georges Vernay but it was Aurélien’s father, Gilbert, who started bottling their own production. Aurélien says of his father (who retired in 2023), “he was brilliant in the vineyards but just didn’t have the interest in the winery.” Fortunately, Aurélien was always very interested in the winery, so they made a great team. Over recent years their focus has very much turned to quality. Instead of expanding production, they have reduced vineyard holdings from 10 to 8 ha. Vines are worked organically; they are not certified but do hold the HVE 3 accreditation. They use natural wax to seal the bottles and recyclable corks made from sucrose. With the retirement of Gilbert and his pair of hands, Aurélien will continue to focus on increasing the quality and may reduce vineyard holdings further. We think this domaine is one to watch: it is already starting to find favour in the press and as the wines continue to gain finesse and elegance, we can see this star continuing to rise.