Domaine Couturier is led by the legendary Marcel Couturier, who comes from a long line of vignerons in the southern Mâconnais, in conjunction with his daughter Cladie and son Auxence. The winery is located in the commune of Fuissé, overlooking the villages of Loché, Mâcon, and the great plain of Bresse. Their vineyards are located within a fault zone, meaning several different soil types exist close to one another within a small area. The domaine is just one of four producers who are estate bottling in Mâcon-Loché. In total, they farm 11 hectares of chardonnay vineyards in multiple appellations. Most of their vines are quite old, with many parcels exceeding 70 years of age and their “young” vines averaging 30-40 years old.

Farming is meticulous at Domaine Couturier, employing only certified organic and biodynamic methods. They work soils with ground cover between rows to regenerate the hard, poor clay soils, which greatly benefit from the aeration and the introduction of native organic materials.

Couturier’s Pouilly-Loché comes from east-facing parcels with over-35 year-old chardonnay vines near the village of Loché. The vineyards are known for heavy calcareous clay soils with schist, which give wines substance, grip, and longevity. Couturier wines from Pouilly-Loché are structured and serious, architectural and firm.

At harvest, whole bunches are hand-picked, and once the bunches are pressed, they allow the must settles for up to two days. No sulfur is added to the bunches when they arrive in the winery, and the resulting wild-yeast fermentations are long and cool. Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations occur naturally in French Burgundy barrels (90% used and 10% new). Some of the gross lees are retained during fermentation, resulting in a small amount of skin contact during both fermentation and élevage. The wines age in the same barrels without bâtonnage, spending a total of 11 months in the fermentation barrel and are racked only once prior to bottling. Depending on the vintage, only a light bentonite fining and the minimal amount of sulfur dioxide is added before bottling.

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