Domaine Courbis (Northern Rhône Valley, France)

The second, and our favorite, winery of the 500 Wineries Northern Rhône Expedition was Domaine Courbis in the town of Châteaubourg. We had the fantastic opportunity to meet with the two brothers who own the domaine, Laurent and Dominique, as well as the winemaker, Vincent. Being able to speak with the owners and winemaker provided excellent insights into the history of the domaine, the grape growing techniques, and the wine production process. One of my wine tasting professors, a Master of Wine from California, recommended their Saint-Joseph Syrah as the benchmark for blind wine tasting Northern Rhône wines. Domaine Courbis is known globally for its wines!

During the wine experience, Laurent walked us through the tasting and winemaking practices of ten wines they produce. Looking through my tasting notes, I found several favorite wines from the domaine. If I had to pick, the 2020 Saint-Joseph Syrah and the 2018 Cornas Les Eygats were my favorites. Both red wines are made completely from the Syrah grape, resulting in a deep ruby colored wine with aromas of red plum, black fruits, and violet. The Saint-Joseph wine is matured in mixture of stainless steel vats and three to six year old oak barrels to produce a more approachable wine designed to be consumed young. On the other hand, the Cornas Les Eygats showed strong concentration of aromas and flavors due to the vines’ favorable east and southeast exposure to the sun, as well as significant tannin structure due to the wine’s maturation in a 50/50 blend of new and one-year old oak barrels, giving the wine the ability to age another 10 to 15 years. Domaine Courbis produces only 5,000 bottles of the Cornas Les Eygats wine each year, so get them when you can:-)

Laurent added so much humor to our visit and he provided us great advice for experiencing the local food scene. Also, Brodi greatly appreciated all the attention during the experience! Check out their really cool website for videos of the vineyards and the family, as well as more information about the domaine.

Experience Rating: 3 Stars

Brodi's Rating: 3 Paws Up

Website: https://www.vins-courbis-rhone.com/

Pet-Friendly: Yes

Vibe: Private Experience, Standing Bar Tasting

Reservations Needed: Not needed during the week. but yes on Saturdays or for groups over 4 people.

Language(s): English and French