Burgundy reigns supreme when it comes to nuance and terroir specificity on labels, so when the new “Bourgogne Côte d’Or” appellation was decreed in 2017, a collective perking of sommeliers’ ears occurred around the globe. This new designation is tailor-made for premium Bourgogne sourced exclusively from the fabled growing zones of Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, and although you’ll see this term prominently displayed on today’s front label, this wine holds far more particularity and pedigree than meets the eye.
First of all, Fabien Coche’s family tree shares branches with heavyweights/legends Coche-Dury and Roulot, whose Bourgogne bottlings are respectively fetching $300 and $100. Secondly, because of his ties to Burgundy royalty, Coche has been blessed with blue-chip real estate that’s quietly funneled into today’s remarkable, should-cost-multiples-more 2018 release. By utilizing old, organically farmed heirloom vines within the village of Meursault and maturing the wine for 18 months before a manual, unfiltered bottling, this doesn’t just stand up to the exorbitantly priced village-level competition, it outclasses a great number of them! As you may already know, only a small amount of this cuvée reaches our shores per annum, so I suggest you go wild because this remains one of the greatest white Burgundy “gets” on the market.
If you’re more of a visual person, glance over the attached family tree to see how Fabien Coche is linked to legendary Burgundian domaines like Coche-Dury and Roulot. Everyone else, continue down the rabbit hole: In 1940, Julien Coche started with a single hectare (under the name Domaine Julien Coche-Debord) and when his son, Alain—first cousin to Jean-François of Domaine Coche-Dury—came aboard, land ownership grew to a dozen hectares after decades of manual work. At this point, the estate was renamed Domaine Coche-Bizouard. Alain’s son, Fabien, took the reins in 1998, and for the last two decades, he has impressively managed their 40 parcels of vines in and around the villages of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet. Equally impressive are their old vines that have been farmed organically for 23 years and counting: over 60% of them are pushing past 60 years old!
Though they have vineyard holdings ranging from Saint-Aubin to Pommard, today’s 2018 Bourgogne Côte d’Or was sourced from a handful of heirloom parcels in Meursault, just outside of the designation line for village-level wines. Coche is known for picking later (up to one week!) than most other local growers to ensure full phenolic ripeness. When harvest does come, all activities are strictly carried out by hand. In their old-school cellar, a cool and subsequently long fermentation occurs before 12 months of maturation in mostly used, large-format French barrels—Coche renews one out of every eight barrels each year. Following, the wine is transferred into stainless steel tanks to “tighten up” for six months before bottling without fining or filtration.
The Coche name, Meursault real-estate, extended aging, and a warm vintage: Fabien’s 2018 Bourgogne Côte d’Or is an unabashedly delicious treat that’s packed to the brim with piano-wire tension and rich, mineral-driven textures. A brilliant silver-yellow core with hints of green emerges in the glass, followed by vibrant, high-toned aromas of yellow peach skin, pineapple core, gardenia, honeysuckle, flint, lees, lemon curd, crushed white rock, oyster shell, and subtle hints of baking spice. This is a perfectly balanced, medium-bodied white Burgundy with ample layers of plush yellow fruit and nervy minerals that crackle with life—after all, it is Meursault in disguise. If drinking now, I recommend decanting for 30 minutes before serving in large Burgundy stems. Enjoy your remaining bottles over the next 3-7 years. Cheers!
