Jean Francois Coche ( from the Domaine Coche-Dury ) was in town and we spend some time together talking about wine . He was much more relaxed than when I visit him in Meursault so we had time to discuss various topics in more detail and I had time to take notes . I thought some was very interesting .
- His first year making wine was 1964 !
- He mentioned that for his means , 10 ha is the maximum surface he ( and his son ) can manage . When his son joined him , JF quickly increased their holdings to 12 ha but his son objected . He believes 10 is the maximum because of the labor intensity in the vines . So Coche sold of or traded down .In the old days , he said , 5 ha was the maximum .
- Regarding premature oxidation , he believes there are 3 or 4 culprits : less SO2 in the wine , the corks , less acidity in the grapes because of excessive yields , to much manipulation in the chais .
- The effect of climate change : more hail storms who are devastating , more insects coming from the south and more mushrooms in the vineyard . All require additional work in the vineyard .
- work in the vineyard is key ; never use profylactic treatment . Always be there to manage " events " . Study everything on a continuous basis . His 10 hours/a day in the vineyard is common . ( I think that is the difference with a lot of his peers : he just works much harder ) .
- Coche still bottles ALL his wines by hand . As his production is between 150 and 300 barrels a year ( depending on the weather ) , he can be busy bottling 90.000 bottles by hand . He told me you can do it differently as long as you don’t put any pressure on the wine .
We tasted his recently bottled 2012 wine together . he had interesting comments with each of his wines
Aligoté : 20 months in cuve . Best with oysters , he claims , Meursault of Puligny would over power the oysters . Imo , best aligoté he ever made . Round and yummy .
Chardonnay : fresh with nice acidity , much different from the aligoté . Coche believes the best Chardonnay villages comes from Meursault as Puligny and Chassagne are too rich and deep.
Meursault Villages : he has 2 : Narvaux and Vireuils . Kermit Lynch usually choses Narvaux because it is easier and ready to drink sooner . The Vireuils has more acidity and will , in the best years , take some time to come around . But the Vireuils will go on for ever , Coche claims . So reviewers of the Meursault Villages should mention what they are tasting as the 2 wines are very different .
Chevalieres and Rougeots : the Chev. is finer and more floral : a wine for fish , Coche claims . The Rougeots is more powerful and more complex . ( the term Rougeots comes from a mushroom infection on the leaves , gives brown spots… ).
Puligny Enseignieres : from a lot just under the Leflaive and Pernot holding in Bienvenue . One of the few Villages wines that border grand Cru . Tight , mineral and floral .
M Caillerets : bordering Volnay . Facing south . Delicious already . Is always fully ready to enjoy .
M Genevrieres : more fat and concentrated . In the center of Meursault . A mixture of Charmes and Perrieres , according to Coche .
M Perrieres ;from dessus . Most complex wine of grand cru class . The active calcaire gives the wine an enormous minerality. The church of Meursault was build with stone from Perrieres .
These days , he keeps his Corton Charlemagne out of the trade till he believes it is more ready to drink . He claims most of his CC is drunk way too young . So we did not taste his 2012 . His 2011 is delicious , from, a " lesser " year .