CRAFT + ESTATE PRESENTS Location: Vury, Cote Chalonnaise Grape Varietals: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is the new kid on the block in Burgundy, even though his family name has been spoken in the vineyards of Côte LAURENT COGNARD Chalonnaise for many decades. But he has already proven himself as a winemaker with exceptional talent. Born in 1975, he exudes confidence and drive and has a crystal-clear understanding of what constitutes a great Chardonnay de terroir. REPUTATION Laurent’s flagship wine is the Montagny 1er Cru “Les Bassets,” which he sources from his 2.35 hectare monopole of premier cru Chardonnay vines in the upper portion of the vineyard. The lower section is village wine. His first commercial vintage of Les Bassets, produced in 2002, put Domaine Laurent Cognard on the wine map. When this premier cru is young, it shows ripe, fruit-forward flavors with outstanding minerality; as it ages, it develops more richness and a fleshy, opulent texture. In 1997, when Laurent was 22, he left his family vineyard for Paris. His grandfather, Raymond Cognard, had supplied grapes to the Vinzelles co-op in the Mâconnais, and his parents, Jean and Marie Anne, sold their fruit to the cooperative in Bissey, near Buxy. Laurent, however, felt that it was “pathetic” to put so much work into growing the grapes only to sell them. He believed that those You need the same drive during harvest and vinification to make good wines as rugby players need in the scrum. who know a vineyard’s vines and have worked its soil can make much better wine from that vineyard. His goal became to bottle the first vintage of Les Bassets. Laurent worked as a wine consultant for the fine wine section of a major brewery in Lyon and as a commercial agent for Champagne Billecart-Salmon in Paris. He came home to Buxy in Côte Chalonnaise during harvest for several years, making the first vintages of the Montagny wines. For the first time ever, the family’s grapes were vinified and domaine bottled, rather than delivered to the local cooperative. In 2006, Laurent returned home permanently to take over his parents’ vineyards. He brought with him insight into what constitutes a truly fine wine as well as a broad perspective in wine marketing and sales, gained through his earlier working experience. Laurent knew that because his vineyards are outside the Côte d’Or, he would need to work harder for recognition. He also realized that wines produced in the Côte Chalonnaise deliver exceptional value. And that secret was getting out, as critics mentioned that an extremely fine premier cru Montagny wine could be purchased for less than a village wine from Puligny- Montrachet or Meursault. Still, there are many who do not yet know about the Côte Chalonnaise. This region is rich not only in very quaffable wines, but also in history. The tiny village of Montagny-lès-Buxy likely takes its name from Montanum, a name the Romans gave a village in this region around 2,000 years ago. This sleepy area lies in the appellation of the Côte Chalonnaise, which, along with Laurent employs local harvesters, who come quickly once he has decided the optimum day to pick each specific vineyard. The VIGNOBLE DE LA CÔTE DE BEAUNE rush to get the grapes into fermentation then begins. The hand- Remigny COUCHOIS Dijon Chagny harvested grapes are sorted in the vineyard and again at the winery. Dracy-lès- Bouzeron Couches Chassey- le-Camp Saint-Gilles Rully Chamilly Laurent, who was once a rugby player and has a warm, burly Couches Dennevy Saint-Léger- presence, likens wine-making to rugby: “You need the same drive sur-Dheune Charrecey Saint-Jean- Mercurey during harvest and vinification to make good wines as rugby de-Trézy 1 8 9 D E A 6 players need in the scrum.” D 978 Canal du Centre Saint-Denis- Dracy-le-Fort Barizey de-Vaux WINEMAKING Givry Jambles Chalon- N 80 sur-Saône “Making white wines is easy if you have good, sound grapes. Some Saint-Désert N 80 people find making reds to be more interesting because they are Montceau- Rosey les-Mines 1 8 9 Sassangy D more challenging, but I like to make the Montagny,” Laurent says, ÔTE CHALONNAIS Buxy Mâcon referring to the premier cru Les Bassets. C Montagny-lès-Buxy Jully-lès-Buxy Fley “I prefer to ferment the wines with native yeast. However, some Germagny Saules years that have hail, like 2011, I may choose a cultured yeast Saint-Boil Genouilly Saint-Martin- Culles- Appellations Villages Premiers Crus du-Tartre lès-Roches that would begin fermentation quickly and prevent oxidation,” Appellations Villages Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Vaux-en-Pré Saint-Maurice- des-Champs explains Laurent. “Normally, the fermentation begins on its own Bourgogne (blanc et rouge) Saint-Clément- Santilly Bourgogne aligoté sur-Guye in the barrel.” Bourgogne Côtes du Couchois VIGNOBLE Sercy DU MÂCONNAIS Cluny He presses the grapes and lets the juice cold settle overnight in a stainless steel tank before transferring it directly into a combination of 225-liter barrels and 500-liter puncheons for fermentation. Laurent’s favorite coopers are François Frères, Mâconnaise, is in the Saône-et-Loire département of southern Dargaud et Jaeglé and Damy from the Allier and Vosges forests. Burgundy. Laurent likes the fact that the larger puncheons provide texture and flavor development while contributing minimal oak character GRAPE GROWING because of their smaller wine-to-wood ratio. For those wines that he prefers to have more pronounced oak character, he uses a After establishing his domaine, Laurent immediately focused on portion of new, small barrels. He currently has eight puncheons improving his seven hectares of vines with naturally sustainable and 13 small barrels and uses 10 percent new oak combined with and lutte raisonnée techniques. He began plowing under the vine two- and three-year-old casks. Laurent also makes a special cuvée, canopies to drive the roots deeper into the soil so that they would Montagny Premier Cru Cuvée Maxence, named for his daughter absorb more minerals for terroir flavors in the wines. He now and fermented in entirely new oak. leaves a narrow band of grass between the rows to prevent erosion and ground compaction. In rainy years, the grass also provides From his work with Champagne, Laurent knows that the traction for the tractors in the region’s clay-limestone soils. longer the fermentation, the finer the wine. A short primary fermentation is a hot one, so he takes care to keep the wines as The 30-year-old premiers crus vines, which lie within the village cool as possible in the barrel. The bâtonnage regime (the number of Buxy, are rooted in limestone and clay soils. The vineyard is of times that the lees are stirred weekly or monthly) depends on an east-facing hillside, with the vines planted in an east-west on the vineyard lot and vintage. For example, in 2010 Laurent orientation. Laurent prunes his vines in a single Guyot, preferring implemented only three batonnages; he finds he is decreasing this to leave a long baguette and then selectively remove buds. This regime each year because he feels it contributes to a heaviness spaces out the shoots and improves air circulation to prevent in the wines contrary to his style of retaining as much freshness mildew, as well as increasing sun exposure on the clusters. He as possible. Laurent also wants the malolactic fermentation to believes that limiting production through pruning is superior to complete slowly, finishing in July or August before the next removing excess green clusters once they have developed. harvest. After about one year of aging, the wines are filtered and As the grapes approach full ripening, Laurent makes his picking bottled. decisions based on tasting the flavor and tannin maturity of “I make wines to drink now,” says Laurent of his portfolio of four the seeds and skins, as well as on pH, acid and sugar analysis. whites and one red Burgundy wine, all from his estate. “I like the He would rather err on the side of over-ripe than not mature; fresh fruit expression and minerality, so I consider two to three however, he strives for the perfect balance of minerality and fresh years to be the optimum period of consumption.” flavors. “Late harvested fruit goes into overdrive on pear and peach character,” he says. MERCUREY 1ER CRU “CLOS DU PARADIS” Mercurey is one of five main villages in the Côte Chalonnaise with its own AOC and is permitted to produce red, white, and rosé. It is one of the best-known appellations in the Côte Chalonnaise and is famous for its Pinot Noir which at its best can rival the reds of the Côte de Beaune. Clos du Paradis 1er Cru sits just outside of the small commune of St-Martin-sous-Montaigu. It is aged in a combination of 10% new 228-liter Burgundian pièce and 500-liter puncheons. Mercurey Rouge tends to be firmly structured, a THE WINES bit rough when young, with firm tannins and an ability to age well. Like the reds from the Côte de Beaune, Mercurey Rouge is often red-fruit oriented, with aromas and flavors of red cherries, raspberries, flowers, and herbs. MONTAGNY 1ER CRU “LES BASSETS” Montagny Les Bassets 1er Cru is the flagship wine of the domaine. The vineyard lies near the commune of Buxy with the lower portion classified as village and the upper portion classified as premier cru. The 5.8 acre upper portion belongs entirely to Laurent Cognard. The MONTAGNY 1ER CRU CLOS DU VIEUX CHÂTEAU vineyard has an eastern exposure with limestone soil and an average Clos du Vieux Château is a premier cru vineyard overlooking vine age of 25 years.