Fabien Coche

Domaine Fabien Coche is a Meursault estate of twelve hectares, split across some forty parcels in seven villages of the Côte de Beaune: Meursault, Pommard, Auxey-Duresses, Monthélie, Saint-Romain, Saint-Aubin and Puligny-Montrachet. It was created in 1940 and worked for many years under the name Coche-Bizouard; Fabien Coche succeeded his father Alain and the wines now carry his own name. It is not Domaine Coche-Dury, and the two are regularly confused: they are separate Meursault estates from related branches of the Coche family. Nothing bottled here is Coche-Dury wine.

Meursault is the centre of the range. The domaine works three premiers crus in the commune: Les Charmes, the largest of Meursault's premiers crus by surface area, Les Gouttes d'Or, and Les Perrières. Below them come village Meursault and a run of named lieux-dits, Le Limozin, Les Gruyaches, Les Chevalières, Les Luchets and Clos du Pré de Manche, together with a red Meursault, unusual in a commune all but given over to Chardonnay. Behind the village, up the side valley, the domaine works Auxey-Duresses in both colours and, higher and cooler again, Saint-Romain in white. Two grands crus sit at the top of the range: Bâtard-Montrachet in white and, from Gevrey-Chambertin in the Côte de Nuits, Charmes-Chambertin in red.

Fabien Coche turned the vineyards over to organic farming from the 2017 vintage and obtained certification in 2023; the domaine does not publish the name of its certifying body. Work in the vines is ploughing and low yields in place of chemical weed control. The wines are raised in barrel, with a growing share of large-format wood, foudres and casks of 500 to 600 litres, rather than the standard pièce; the domaine publishes no figure for new oak. The whites run to citrus and orchard fruit with a nutty note over a saline close, the reds to red cherry and a savoury edge in a lighter register. Arcana Cabinet lists nine wines from the domaine: the Meursault premiers crus Charmes and Les Gouttes d'Or, Meursault Clos du Pré de Manche, a red Meursault, Charmes-Chambertin grand cru, Pommard premier cru La Platière, Auxey-Duresses and Saint-Romain in white, and Bourgogne Côte d'Or Chardonnay. The range also includes Meursault-Perrières, Puligny-Montrachet premier cru Les Folatières, Saint-Aubin premier cru Les Combes, Monthélie premier cru Les Barbières, Auxey-Duresses premier cru Les Écusseaux and Bâtard-Montrachet grand cru.