2019 Mercurey - Les Vignes Blanches - Qvevris

Frédéric Cossard is not just an extremely entertaining person with a huge personality. His talent as a winemaker is also undeniable and his perfectionism is almost manic when he produces top Burgundy wines year after year completely without the addition of sulphur under his own name or Domaine de Chassorney.

Fred worked for many years as a “courtier” in Burgundy (the intermediary between winegrowers and négociants) but got tired of seeing grapes of exceptional quality being transformed into wine of dubious quality due to bad habits in the cellar. When he established Domaine de Chassorney in 1996, it was obvious for Fred to apply the precision and hygiene standards of his past in dairy production into his wine production making wine completely without the use of sulphur. The wines from Domaine de Chassorney are from his own vineyards and are grown with enormous care and insight.

While Fred produces wine exclusively from his own vineyards at Domaine de Chassorney, he also makes négociant wines under the name of Frédéric Cossard. This is where his many years as a courtier really come into play. Fred has an impressive network and has built up long-standing relationships of trust with the winegrowers that he buys grapes from, ensuring him continuity from year to year and grapes of exceptionally high quality.

The vinification is completely identical to his domaine wines. Whole clusters are pressed directly for the white wines and undergo fermentation and subsequent storage in cement eggs without stirring of the lees (batônnage). The red wines are also always made from whole clusters that undergo a long but very gentle maceration in large open wooden barrels without temperature control (up to 42 days, provided that the vintage allows it) with subsequent storage in cement eggs and qvevris. The style is juicy, vibrant and unmanipulated and the wines are easily drinkable in their youth, but at the same time show great potential for storing.

Fred has also teamed up with his longtime friend and acclaimed Beaujolais winemaker Damien Coquelet in an ambitious Beaujolais project under the name of Les En Hauts.