Domaine Coursodon : Le Paradis Saint Pierre 2021

Characteristics and tasting tips for the Paradis Saint Pierre 2021 from Domaine Coursodon

Tasting

Appearance
The appearance unveils a brilliant golden yellow color with luminous highlights.

Nose
The nose reveals beautiful aromatic complexity with notes of honey, nectarine, and pear. Aromas of cooked peach and apricot are added, accompanied by touches of grilled almonds and roasted hazelnuts. Subtle nuances of white flowers, jasmine, and citrus fruit complete this generous bouquet.

Palate
On the palate, this white wine expresses beautiful fullness with a full body and a round, creamy texture. The richness of the palate is balanced by a crystalline mineral tension that brings freshness. The finish is long and lingering with a slight, elegant bitterness and notes of citrus zest that confer structure and persistence to the whole.

Food and Wine Pairings

The Paradis Saint Pierre 2021 pairs perfectly with roasted John Dory served with anchovy risotto-style pasta. This white wine also pairs very well with shellfish prepared in butter, grilled lobster, poultry with cream and mushrooms, or dishes with mild spices like curry. Fish in a crust and fine cheeses also make excellent pairings.

Service and Cellaring

The Paradis Saint Pierre 2021 is best served at a temperature between 12 and 14°C. This wine can be appreciated now but will continue to evolve until around 2030.

A complex and mineral white wine from the historic heart of Saint-Joseph

The estate

Domaine Coursodon is a family estate established in Mauves. This estate is located in the historic cradle of the Saint-Joseph appellation, in the heart of the Rhône Valley. Founded at the end of the 19th century, the estate now spans 16 hectares of vines distributed exclusively across the original communes of the appellation. Since 1998, Jérôme Coursodon, representing the fifth generation, has managed the estate with a philosophy focused on excellence and respect for the terroir. The estate practices organic and sustainable viticulture, certified High Environmental Value (HVE), and cultivates its vines by hand on steep slopes. Domaine Coursodon has established itself as one of the essential references of Saint-Joseph, producing wines of great finesse and remarkable aging potential.

The vineyard

The Paradis Saint Pierre 2021 comes from two prestigious lieux-dits located in the historic heart of Saint-Joseph: the Paradis lieu-dit in Mauves and the Saint-Joseph lieu-dit between Mauves and Tournon. These plots benefit from pure granite soils with south and south-east exposures that favor optimal ripening. The vines, over eighty years old, are planted on very steep slopes where all work is carried out manually. The planting density reaches 8,500 vines per hectare on certain old plots. These old vines, trained in the traditional Gobelet style, produce yields limited to around thirty hectoliters per hectare, thus concentrating the aromas and the characteristic minerality of the granite.

The vintage

The 2021 vintage in the Northern Rhône Valley was marked by a harsh winter with a spring frost episode that affected many French vineyards. Spring then offered more favorable conditions, allowing for flowering at the end of May. The months of June and July proved particularly rainy, followed by a period of instability between mid-July and mid-August. Despite these climatic challenges, rigorous vineyard management and selective harvesting made it possible to harvest grapes fully expressing the character of the granitic terroir with beautiful freshness and remarkable aromatic concentration.

Winemaking and aging

The grapes for the Paradis Saint Pierre 2021 are harvested manually at optimal maturity and then carefully sorted twice, first in the vineyards and then in the cellar. Pneumatic pressing is carried out gently on whole bunches over several hours. The juices are then transferred by gravity into oak barrels where alcoholic fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature of 18°C using indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in barrels, bringing roundness and aromatic complexity. Aging continues for twelve months in oak barrels, of which 20% are new and 80% are barrels used for one wine or more, with regular stirring of the fine lees. This measured approach to aging allows for the subtle integration of wood while preserving the mineral expression of the terroir.

Grape Varietals

Marsanne (95%)
Roussanne (5%)