Exploring Bourgogne (5) Domaine Fabien Coche, Meursault
Domaine Fabien Coche
5 rue de Mazeray – 21190 Meursault
Tel. +33 (0)3 80 21 28 41
https://fabiencoche.com/
Fabien Coche is based in Meursault, where he runs the family domaine. Previously this used to be known as Domaine Alain Coche-Bizouard, after his father and mother’s surnames together. Fabien has been in charge since 1997, and now has 12 hectares of vines across 40 parcels, of which 90% are owned. 50% of the wine is generic Bourgogne, while 50% is village and premier cru, split equally between Pinot and Chardonnay.
The family have been making wine here for 100 years. As one of six children, Fabien’s grandfather Julien didn’t inherit much. ‘He was a cooper,’ says Fabien. ‘He was passionate about wine and vineyards and in the 1930s bought some vineyards.’ Then in the 1960s his father Alain bought some more and expanded the domaine to its present size. ‘Today it’s much more difficult to expand the vineyard.’
In 2003 it was a hot year and they started harvest on 25 August. Production was very low. This is when he decided to start a negociant business to keep supplying his clients. For this they buy grapes, not wine. Sometimes they take the grapes picked for them directly from the vineyard and sometimes they pick them.
From 2017 he’s been farming organically. When he took back the estate in 1997 the soils weren’t in great condition, but he began ploughing rather than using herbicide. He applied for certification in 2020, from 2023 will be organically certified. Fabien makes 27 different wines each year. He lost 50% of his production in the difficult 2021 vintage, but thankfully 2022 was normal in volume.
For the last two years the success of the domaine means all the wines are now allocated. He stopped exporting to the USA in 2004 because the US importer didn’t want to buy any wine. When they came back in 2005 he said no, because they didn’t support him in the previous vintage
Aligoté is a grape that interests him. He was one of the first of the aligoteurs. ‘It has a bright future because of climate change,’ he says. ‘This is a grape with high acidity that’s harvested late.’
We tasted from Sydonios glasses, which are beautiful.
THE WINES
Domaine Fabien Coche Bourgogne Aligoté Vieilles Vignes 2022
Bottled in May. Parcel of old vines in Meursault, planted in the 1950s. Hand harvest, older 500 litre barrels. Textural and detailed with lovely saline twist to the mineral, crystalline citrus and pear fruit. Lovely intensity with great intensity. This has a delicacy and finesse. 94/100
Domaine Fabien Coche Bourgogne Aligoté Vieilles Vignes 2021
Linear, fresh and bright with a stony, salty edge with a lovely mineral twist. Good acidity here with a delicacy and purity with nice focus. A delicate but fine example of Aligoté showing a fine tapering finish. 93/100
Domaine Fabien Coche Bourgogne Chardonnay 2021
A blend of nine plots from Meursault. 500 litres barrels and foudres. There’s a lovely expressive tropical passionfruit and apricot edge to this wine, with a core of citrus and green apple fruit as well as good acidity. This has delicacy and precision with nice balance and focus. 92/100
Domaine Fabien Coche Auxey-Duresses Blanc 2021
18 months of elevage. 11 months in new oak and some old oak, then rack, blend to neutral oak (the oak tannins help clarify the wine; with stainless steel the wines weren’t getting clean enough). This has beautiful concentration of pear and white peach with a lovely acid line, and well integrated oak. Beautiful weight and precision with some richness, some dried herbs and fine nutty notes. 94/100
Domaine Fabien Coche Meursault Villages 2021
Two parcels in adjoining climats in the north of Meursault. Lovely intensity and texture with nice density to the pear and citrus fruit, with good oak integration adding nutty depth. Nice acidity. Lovely intensity with great precision showing fine toast and a long lemony finish. 94/100
Meursault Les Luchets 2021
This has beautiful aromatics of fine citrus and pear fruit with a hint of smoky, spicy oak. Nice intensity and precision on the palate with a bit of structure to the sweet pear, white peach and citrus fruit. Lovely acidity keeping things fresh. Chiselled and linear, but with some depth, and the potential for ageing. 95/100
Domaine Fabien Coche Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 2021
This has beautiful precision with lovely lemony detail, showing crystalline citrus fruit, some keen acidity, good concentration and subtle nut and spice. This is really precise with great acidity and purity. Very fine. 96/100
Fabien makes the reds with submerged cap, without pump-over or pigeage.
Domaine Fabien Coche Meursault Rouge 2021
Lovely aromatics. 100% destemmed. A touch of nice reduction with cherries and raspberries, showing some sappy green hints. The palate is expressive, sappy and direct with lovely juicy cherry and cranberry. Very pure, elegant and sappy. 93/100
Domaine Fabien Coche Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Ecusseaux 2021
100% whole bunch. Just 0.6 ares. This is light, elegant, fine and sappy with lovely aromatics showing red cherries, a hint of greenness, lovely fine cherry fruit and an ethereal structure. Such precision here. The ghost of fine reduction, a lovely elegance, beautiful silkiness and astonishing drinkability. Profound. 96/100
Domaine Fabien Coche Pommard 1er Cru La Platière 2021
This is quite beautiful. 50% whole bunch. Very fine but also structured, showing lovely cherry and raspberry fruit with some crunchy structure. Sappy hints with the ghost of reduction, showing power and restraint at the same time. Very expressive with lovely sappy delicacy. This is a beautiful expression of Pommard. Tapering finish. 96/100
Cask samples from 2022:
Auxey-Duresses Blanc 2022
Lively and linear with lovely precision. Sweet citrus, some pear and a nice mineral edge. Very fine. 94/100
Meursault Les Chevalières 2022
Very lively matchstick nose. Bright and very mineral with linear citrus and pear fruit. So mineral and expressive. 96/100
Meursault Clos du Pré de Manche 2022
Taut, stony and mineral with nice precision. Very fine with high acidity. Lovely. 95/100
Auxey-Duresses Rouge 2022
Lively, bright and expressive with a spicy edge to the fruit. Lively and intense. 92/100
