SouthWest Region
Clos La Coutale

The Clos is divided into two adjacent parcels, each distinct, in what looks like a natural amphitheater.  The higher of the two parcels is glacial moraine, shallow, rocky soil, well-drained and sun-drenched, while the lower parcel is alluvial gravel. 

Philippe Bernard is the sixth generation of his family to oversee this 50 hectare estate in Cahors, a few hundred yards from the Lot River, just west of the town of Cahors.  The property was founded 100 years ago by his Great-Great Grandfather, Valmy, and now produces almost 20,000 cases annually.

Vinification:
Modern techniques but respecting traditional methods. All the grapes are destalked and pressed before fermentation in stainless steel vats, each grape variety from different parts of the vineyard being fermented separately. Maceration at 28º C. takes 15 days.

The wines are fermented for three weeks on the skins, and the property has sufficient tank space to ferment 100% of their harvest at once. After racking from stainless steel, half of the wine goes into 60-gallon Seguin-Moreau barrels,while the balance is aged in 800-gallon foudre.

The wine is blended and time spent (12 months) in oak vats gives it the special aromas of vanilla and silky tannins. The wine is bottled, unfiltered, after a year in wood.