2022 Meursault Blagny 1. Cru

Fraté, which means brother in Corsican, is a collaboration between wine distributor Wine Monopole based in Beaune and Frédéric Cossard.

In 2021, Wine Monopole – together with an ownership group consisting of two Burgundy winegrowers and a “courtier” (the intermediary between winegrowers and négociants) – began to launch a series of projects, giving talented winemakers the opportunity to work with grapes and terroirs that they do not normally have access to. First came Roc Breïa in Burgundy, where the young and up-and-coming Theo Dancer produces the wines, as well as Plume in Jura, where the equally talented Burgundy winegrower Aymeric Geantet produces wines from grapes near Rotalier.

In 2022, Fraté joined the list – a project born out of the friendship between Fred Cossard and the aforementioned “courtier”. Fred was looking for grapes from Jura, and the collaboration quickly made sense. Since Fred already makes a wide range of wines, the goal was not to make a large series of cuvées, but rather to start with two wines from Jura and two wines from Premier and Grand Cru terroirs in Burgundy, which Fred does not normally work with.

The wines are made in Fred’s cellar in Saint Romain, and the approach is the same as the wines made under his own name. The well-informed reader will note that with the debut vintage 2022 from Fraté, it is the first time since 2011 that Meursault has been made in Fred’s cellar and the first time since 2015 that he has made a red Grand Cru.