Burgundy, France

Frédéric Cossard

Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Monts Luisants 2020

£118

FRÉDÉRIC COSSARD
Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Monts Luisants 2020
Burgundy, France

From a tiny parcel of seventy year old vines planted with the rare Pinot Fin, just above the Grand Cru Clos de la Roche. Deeper and darker than previous vintages, this is a hauntingly complex, profound expression of Pinot that offers layer upon layer of intrigue.

Pinot Noir


ABOUT THE PRODUCER

Frédéric Cossard is a larger than life character. He is a man with an infectious joie de vivre and a love of wine that runs deep. Fred wasn’t born into a family of vignerons and instead had to start from scratch, no mean feat in Burgundy.

His Domaine de Chassorney was born in 1996 with a few hectares of vines rented in Saint-Romain and Auxey-Duresses and now comprises ten hectares of vines across several villages. He and his wife Laure also act as a négociants, which gives them access to grapes from some of the greatest vineyards in Burgundy. These wines are bottled eponymously, as ‘Frédéric Cossard’.

The Cossards have worked organically from the outset and now focus on homeopathic treatments and remedies tailored to the needs of each site. When fruit is bought, they give the growers a guide for looking after the vines and ensure that work is carried out to their own lofty standards. In doing so they ensure that only the most pristine fruit makes it to their cellars tucked away in the hills of Saint-Romain.

Such scrutiny is necessary to make great wine with no additions. In recent years Fred has continued to pave the way by eschewing the use of oak barrels in favour of concrete eggs, earthenware jars and Georgian qvevris in a quest to further refine his wines. Whites are pressed directly, while reds infuse as whole bunches before being pressed off to these vessels for élevage. The result is Burgundy of rare liveliness, purity and detail.