Courtesan Wines. For founder and owner Bridget Raymond, producing her own wines is deeply rooted in her own upbringing. Growing up in the Oakville/Rutherford part of the Napa Valley her family home was surrounded by vineyards, her family grew grapes, and she fondly recalls her childhood playing among the vines, grape fights in the vineyards with her brother and even one day building a mud bath in their yard, trying to recreate a Calistoga mud bath experience for her mother. And often biking down to La Luna Market on Rutherford Cross Road. Back then the only winery operating near her house was Caymus.
Fast forward many years from her initial introduction to making wine which was helping stomp grapes as a child, Bridget attended both Napa Valley College and the University of California Davis extension to study winemaking and supplement what she had already learned from family and friends; she additionally holds a marketing degree. She has worked at several wineries in the valley over the years, made wine in Italy, was a winemaker for several years at Naked Wines, and in addition to her focus on her own wines, also consults for several clients. In 2004 she created the first vintage of Courtesan Wines.
Today she hand-crafts several labels, her primary wines are the Courtesan Cabernet Sauvignon focusing on Oakville. She produces multiple Courtesan wines – all with the same label but differentiated by their color – primarily the blue, red and purple mask labels. The Courtesan Blue Mask focuses on a Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville, the Purple Mask is a wine made from the same vineyard sites but is a barrel selection for the final blend and the Red Mask Reserve is an Oakville and Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon blend.
Bridget chose Courtesan for the name of her wine in part to reflect her love of history. Courtesan can have a number of connotations, some more lurid in their meaning, but in this case, she honed-in on the use of the word during the Renaissance Period, referring to a well-educated women trained in arts or artisan crafts – someone who was given higher privilege at that time through their association with wealthy and upper-class society.
The Brigitte label includes a Bordeaux-style red blend and a rosé made from Cabernet Sauvignon (her rosé has been made in several styles over the years). Omerta is a word whose etymology is traced back to southern Italy (Bridget’s heritage is from Italy), standing for code of silence and a code of honor. It was also a book of the same name written by the Godfather Series author, Mario Puzo. And incidentally another Godfather connection – Francis Ford Coppola’s winery is located in Rutherford not far from where she grew up. Bridget remembers meeting Francis as a child at one of his parties and one of their family friends would often visit Coppola’s property and she would tag along.
Bridget does not produce the Omerta each year, but when she does it is a secret blend and features some of her best wine (very limited production). She recalls releasing one vintage before the crescendo of the anti-Merlot movement had peaked based on the movie Sideways. But she never called it Merlot and she had no trouble selling the wine.
Bridget has long been fascinated with history and even recalls collecting Venetian masks when she was a child. She loves being creative with her label design. When deciding upon labels for the Courtesan wines she chose the image of a mask – silk screened to each of these bottles. And the label for the Brigitte wines is a silk screen of black lace lingerie – seductive in its visual presentation and certainly a unique label within Napa Valley.
Her wine making focuses on age before release – both in barrel, with her red wines often seeing 28 to 31 months in French oak (the majority of which is new) and then up to 2 years in bottle. Over the years we have noticed a limited number of premium producers conducting barrel fermentation but in general, this is not common because it is such a labor intensive and expensive process. Barrel fermentation in part is related to tannin management; a high quantity of tannins are extracted but are fairly soft and approachable in their youth – but also gives the wine an age-worthy backbone.
Winemaking is a labor of love for Bridget, but being in the vineyard, regardless of where she is takes her back to her childhood. And perhaps like gardening for some, being among the vines for her is therapeutic, calming and a place of solace at times.
The Courtesan wines are all crafted with approachability in mind early in their youth, but always framed around balance and freshness. And they are built to age regardless of vineyard, vintage, or wine.
Select Wines
Whites
The 2018 Courtesan Sémillon, Skellenger Lane Collection, Oakville Napa Valley was bended with about 2% Sauvignon Blanc to give it some supporting uplifted freshness. For reference, we tasted this wine seven years post vintage. It is medium gold in color; well layered, the bouquet offers aromas of bruised apples, dried apricots, star jasmine, chamomile, dried thyme, lemon zest, pineapple, pineapple guava and baked apple pies, an aromatic that somewhat reminded us of the apple pies our aunts used to bake during Thanksgiving meals. The lightly tangy palate is singing at this age and showing in a sweet spot with flavors of lemon meringue, dried apricot and assorted dried herbs including thyme and oregano. The mouthfeel is rounded, soft and supple. At this age, this wine is still very much bright, mouthwatering, and refreshing.
Rosé
The 2021 Starlet Rosé of Pinot Noir, Sonoma Valley was whole cluster pressed. This wine is medium copper in color. Minerally with some citrus overtones, the bouquet reveal scents of grapefruit, currant, loquat and kumquat. Bright, also minerally on the palate and intensely flavored, this bottling offers flavors of red cherry, guava, passion fruit, Pippin apple, a light note of ruby grapefruit and cucumber infused water. This wine is extremely youthful four years post vintage. The finish lingers mouthwatering, vivacious and refreshing. Maybe this is a rarity, but this wine is proof that some rosé’s can in fact age gracefully. Its texture is rounded and both lifted and somewhat overshadowed (but in a good way) by its lively acidity. Very versatile in terms of food pairing, this wine would complement grilled fish, perhaps river trout. And an appropriate description is listed on the back label simply as, “sexy juice”. This wine is a BevMo! exclusive available at their locations nationwide.
The 2018 Courtesan Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon was blended with 10% Merlot and a dollop of Grenache; this wine is deep copper in color. Its dark color is the result of the juice remaining on skins for two days before it was pressed off. On the bouquet there are aromas of rose petals, strawberry, raspberry, watermelon and Rainier cherry. Balanced, flavorful and easy drinking but with loads of flavor. The palate expresses pomegranate, cranberry, watermelon, white cherry and raspberry. Lingers with a light white spice note on the rich and well-fruited finish. Its texture is rounded but complemented by a lively and zesty acidity, keeping this wine remarkably fresh 7 years post vintage. Pair with grilled gulf shrimp, XO sauce and Meyer lemon, a lovely dish prepared by Understudy Cafe in St. Helena. This is an elegant showing cradled perfectly between freshness, flavor and texture.
Reds
The 2016 Courtesan North Coast red wine is medium to deep ruby in color; for reference, we tasted this wine nine years post vintage. The bouquet offers a pretty union of both red fruits and baking spices. These aromatics include raspberry pie, red cherry including a cherry liqueur, Santa Rosa plum, ripe boysenberry, blackberry, allspice, mocha and espresso. Fresh and lively with loads of movement across the palate its flavors include tart cherry, currant, cranberry, red plums and boysenberry. The tannins are rounded perfect spheres at this age persisting with a subtle grainy and lightly drying character on the savory and extended finish. This wine continues to linger with notes of smoked sage, white pepper and dried bay leaf. 15.2% ABV. This is an ideal pizza wine, perhaps paired with one of our local favorites, the moto guzzi at Rosso Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Santa Rosa.
The 2016 Brigitte North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal with the grapes coming from both vineyards in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. This wine is medium to deep garnet in color; the bouquet offers loads of fruit still at 9 years post vintage. Its aromatics include Santa Rosa plum, dark raspberry, boysenberry, Himalayan purple mulberry, blackberry and dark plum. Additional scents are of vanilla, mocha, dark cocoa powder, a light toast, sweet tobacco spice, and old cedar box. Generous across the palate in terms of its fruit profile, this wine tastes like raspberry, Santa Rosa plum, cherry, blackberry and boysenberry. Lingers bright, red fruited and savory with notes of chalk, crushed peppercorn, smoked sage, smoked cedar and dried bay leaf. The tannins have certainly been softened by time in the bottle, showing a rounded texture; they linger with a light to moderate dusty grip. At this age the wine still shows plenty of primary characteristics but perhaps will start evolving to more tertiary notes within the next five years. This wine shows in a sweet spot right now, but would also benefit from the company of a BBQ and a well-marbled Wagyu steak.
The 2014 Brigitte Red Wine, Oakville Napa Valley is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is medium garnet in color; for reference we needled and nosed this wine 11 years post vintage. Its primary fruit aromatics are starting to fade, making way for some tertiary characteristics including dried blackberry, sweet tobacco spice, dried leaves/forest floor, old cedar box, a faint note of soy, tonka bean, old saddle leather, mocha and dried herbs, I.E., sage. Additional layers are of dark raspberry and red plum. Red fruited, light on its feet and very balanced at this age, its flavors include red cherry, currant, cranberry, raspberry and red licorice. The tannins are tumbled, rounded and persist with a light dusty and chalky grip. A balanced but bright acidity anchors the finish. This wine is priced very reasonably in terms of quality. Pair this with a rack of lamb with rosemary and garlic.
The 2014 Courtesan Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon (Blue Mask) is dark red ruby in color. It is forward with the fruit on the bouquet – showing dark ripe cherry, cassis, a hint of black olive, darker spices and as the wine breathes more, a note of mocha. Plush and rounded on the entry – nothing stands out as being harsh on the palate. Nicely balanced and approachable – finishes clean with dry fine-grained well-integrated tannins. Lovely texture.
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Barrel fermenting photo courtesy of Courtesan
In addition to her California wines, Bridget has also produced wines from the Veneto region in Italy and through a partnership with Bekauri Family Vineyards in the ancient winemaking country of Georgia, provided winemaking consultation and worked with varieties such as the white variety, Kisi and the red variety, Saperavi. As far as we know, neither of these two varieties are growing in Napa Valley.
The wines are sold both direct to consumer via an allocation membership list as well as through select distribution channels. Focusing on restaurants in certain markets in California, some of her wines are found in Michelin starred restaurants in Napa Valley, San Francisco and Los Angeles. And parts of Asia are also interested in her wines with distribution in Hong Kong, Macau (including in some major casinos), and Japan. Locally, some of her wines my be found in V Wine Cellar in Yountville.
While Courtesan does not operate a retail location, Bridget often conducts winemaker lunches and dinners at select locations around the country and has been involved in various charity wine focused events. Total production is around 800 cases for all of the wines. For more information and or to join the mailing list, visit: www.courtesanwines.com
Outstanding wine. Love the bottles
Zeeshan – one of Napa Valley’s most under the radar, exceptional producers. I wish more people knew about Bridget’s creativity and limited production wines.