Domaine de la Grande Courraye Côtes de Bordeaux

Domaine de la Grande Courraye Côtes de Bordeaux is the Dupuy family's single-estate expression of their Côtes de Castillon vineyard, bottled separately from the family's flagship Château Beauséjour to honor the specificity of the site. Farmed under Demeter-certified biodynamic principles, the vines grow without synthetic chemicals, their roots pushing into soil kept alive by cover crops and natural microbial activity. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts, never chaptalized, never acidified—a transparent look at what the Right Bank can offer when price and pedigree take a back seat to honest viticulture. The Dupuy family farms this parcel in Castillon with the same rigor they apply to their more celebrated holdings, believing that biodynamic certification is not marketing but method. The soils here are clay-limestone, typical of the appellation, and the vines are mostly Merlot with supporting percentages of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, the blend shifting slightly with each vintage to reflect the year's conditions. The estate harvests by hand, sorts in the vineyard, and relies on long, slow fermentations in concrete and older barrels to preserve freshness. There is no technological rescue—what goes into the bottle is what the land offered that season. The wine shows ripe dark fruit—black cherry, plum, a thread of blackcurrant—grounded by earthy notes of forest floor, graphite, and a faint herbal edge that keeps the palate from turning sweet. The tannins have grip but not aggression, and the acidity stays present enough to pair cleanly with roasted meats, cassoulet, aged Comté, or even a simple plate of charcuterie and mustard. It drinks well slightly chilled in warm weather, and it rewards an hour in a decanter if you open it young. This is everyday Bordeaux in the best sense: structured, savory, and built to sit on the table, not the shelf. Domaine de la Grande Courraye Côtes de Bordeaux is available for pickup at Off Premise Chicago, 1128 W Armitage Ave in Lincoln Park, with local Chicago delivery and nationwide shipping.