Granit Blanc 2019 - Domaine de Vaccelli

Domaine de Vaccelli

Iconic winemakers from Ajaccio

In Corsica, to the south of Ajaccio, you'll find the Domaine de Vaccelli, on the commune of Cognocoli-Monticchi (Taravo Valley). Nobody knows when exactly it was founded but it was bought by Roger Courrèges and his brother in 1962. Both of them came from Algeria after the independence, in order to keep producing wine. They used to own a vineyard back in Medea, 80 km away from the city of Algiers. Once in Corsica, they entirely renovated the old Vaccelli estate and planted new grapevines (Grenache, Cinsault, Muscat…) where only weeds used to grow.

Roger's son, Alain Courrèges, took the helm of what had become the family business in 1974, when his father died. He put the 20 hectares vineyard to the test and made his very first red vintage wine in the late 1970's. Unfortunately, it was a failure. But Alain didn't give up: he hired a professional oenologist from the region and, with his help, produced a new and much better cuvée. Now a successful winemaker, he built a modern wine cellar in 1990, with brand new steel vats, not far from the main road. In 2000, his son Gérard Courrèges came to give his dad a hand, once he had finished his winemaking studies and internship at the Clos Capitoro. Gérard's sister Nathalie also worked at the estate to support the family.

Gérard is a Burgundy lover and like many winemakers in Burgundy, this vineyard growing in a granite soil is everything to him. He sees it as a huge garden, where all the plants and insects live in harmony. Such a philosophy motivated him to apply for an official certification, which he received in 2008: the Ecocert Label. Since then, the Domaine de Vaccelli has only been producing organic wine. Each year, Gérard Courrège makes around 75,000 bottles of red and white wine, under the Ajaccio appellation. Corsican wines of high-quality with a strong personality, worthy of the Island of Beauty.

Discover the wines from the Domaine de Vaccelli.