Julien Courtois Elements is a single-variety natural red wine made with the Gamay-Chaudenay variety by Julien Courtois under the Vin de France denomination, in the Loire Valley, France.
Julien Courtois Elements is made with grapes that come from plots with predominantly silica soils on the surface with clays and flint underneath. The vines have an average age of 60 years old. The harvest is carried out manually and the grapes ferment with their native yeasts in used oak barrels. The resulting wine ages for 12 months also in used barrels. The wine is only racked once, and is bottled unrefined and unfiltered.
Julien Courtois established his own vineyard in 1998, where he has 4.5 hectares in Soings in Sologne. Here he works how his father Claude taught him. They have both always worked with the philosophy of making quality wines from low-yielding vines and prioritising optimal concentration and working in line with the principles of biodynamic agriculture and respect for natural cycles.
Julien Courtois produces his wines with minimal intervention. No chemicals are used either in the vineyard or in the winery, which gives their wines a distinctive, honest and unique flavour.