Domaine de Courbissac Roc du Suzadou Rouge 2015

Visually stunning as it may be, the high Minervois is tough, tough wine country. If the arduous work on the rugged, rocky hillsides isn't enough to put you off, you've got the tiny yields and the lack of recognition (that comes with working in a region of such extreme qualitative contrasts) to contend with; potentially meagre returns unless you've got a something to fall back on. So, it takes a particular brand of dedication to make really special wine down here; you're either a bit of a wildcard or a winegrower with particularly strong constitution; vigneronne Brunnhilde Claux is a bit of both.

There's something special happening here. Courbissac's Brunnhilde Claux arrived in Minervois in the winter of 2013 after six years under Gérard & Ghislaine Gauby and then three vintages with Dominik Huber at Terroir al Límit. 2014 represents her first vintage at Domaine de Courbissac, which launches a brave new era for this exciting Domaine. Courbissac was already biodynamic (since 2002) but Claux has brought earlier harvesting, subtle whole bunch, neutral oak (zero new) and a sensitive touch to the wine growing and cellar work. The result has been a new set of wines with fabulous purity, perfume, intensity and freshness. Minervois is a young region whose appellation status was granted as recently as 1985. It's an area littered with extraordinarily rocky, high country vineyards and pockets of old vines growing out of limestone plateaux and slopes. The climate, soils and range of altitudes are almost tailor-made for vine cultivation and the Courbissac estate covers around 30-hectares of slopes nestled along the jagged limestone of La Petit Causse, within the Minervois' cru of La Livinière. Unsurprisingly, for a grower who trained under Gérard & Ghislaine Gauby and who worked with Terroir al Límit, Brunnhilde Claux has continued the estate's biodynamic traditions and, in fact, has taken them further. Yet Claux's main drive has been to work the vineyards in order to achieve ripeness at the lowest possible Baume ‚– her aim being to capture as much freshness as possible. This work, combined with Claux's gentle winemaking‚–infusion rather than extraction‚–and the complete absence of new oak, has already produced a range of wine that are appreciably livelier, more seductive and fragrant than what we had come to expect of this excellent producer and the Minervois appellation in general. These are lithe, pure-fruited southern wines, whose depth and layered personalities do not sacrifice perfume and mineral freshness. Here is the kind of Languedoc that keeps you interested until the very last drop and makes you think seriously about ordering a second bottle. Finesse and freshness, intensity without heaviness ‚– the very things that so wowed us about the Priorat wines of Terroir al Límit, are now getting us equally excited in the high Minervois wines of Brunnhilde Claux. - Importer Note