Clos des Brusquières, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

"Consumers should be closely following this estate as proprietor Courthil-Thibaut appears to be ratcheting up the quality with each new vintage" (Parker)

Clos des Brusquieres owner Claude Courthil sold everything off to negociants until the 1996 vintage, the first to be estate bottled, depriving the world of a good source of good quality, inexpensive, ultra-traditionally made Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Claude is something of a loner, spending most of his time quietly in the fields or at the winery, gradually improving the quality of his small production. Most of his eight and a half hectares is to the north of the village on stony soil. An indication of Claude's reserve, we learnt after we had already purchased a parcel of his 1998 wines that Claude's uncle is the legendary Henri Bonneau, one of the most revered winemakers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The relationship between Claude and Henri is strong as he is not only his uncle but his master as well. Claude told us he learned everything from his uncle. Henri taught him all about the growth of the plant, the importance of manual work of the ground and the vines, the vinification in respect of natural processes, ageing, everything! Whilst Claude would not suggest that his wines are in the same league as those of Oncle Henri, we think they offer a superb insight into the traditional style of wines from the region which is fast becoming history in the pursuit of Parker points and other trophies.

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