Terroir Insight: Domaine Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne

Domaine Coche-Dury has a firm, warm, hedonistic place in my heart after 25 years with the wines from this legendary estate. They are unique, in the best sense of the word.

Corton-Charlemagne is not even the home turf of Coche-Dury, yet if one can find it, a Charlie from the estate could well match – if not surpass – its legendary Meursault Perrieres. These are Coche-Dury’s two top wines, and frequently the top wines in the appellations as a whole.

I could now recite the usual Coche estate history and its glorious wines, but I won’t. I do, however, want to tell one or two stories about Coche-Dury’s history with the Winehog.

First-time Coche-Dury

The first time I tasted Coche-Dury was in 1995, with Danish wine friends and some rather colourful wine people and entrepreneurs.

A 1992 Coche Meursault Chevalieres village and a Ramonet Chassagne Morgeot 1993 were together in a flight with a completely forgettable Prosper Maufoux Batard-Montrachet as the third wheel.

The Ramonet was very good. But the Coche Meursault Chevalieres 1992 – my first Coche – was brilliant, taking Meursault to previously unseen levels for the then-relatively-inexperienced Winehog.

The Batard was destroyed by the other two, and this was the start of my quest for more Coche-Dury.

Another Coche treat – getting close to the Charlie

In 2004, I was at a conference in New Orleans and had the chance to visit Emeril’s New Orleans, Emeril Lagasse’s flagship restaurant, then a delightful, relaxed place.

Back then, it had a tremendous wine list and an extensive selection of Coche; more than ten vintages of the Corton-Charlemagne and multiple other Coche wines were available.

It was my first chance to buy the Corton-Charlemange, and we/I should have. But the price was a bit spicy (not by today’s standards of course) at 300-400 dollars.

So instead we choose the Coche Meursault Perrieres 1996: a splendidly brilliant wine, and still today the best Meursault I have ever tasted. “Bam!,” as the good Emeril would have said.

This meant that I first tasted the Coche Corton-Charlemagne about ten years later – see below.

The Domaine Coche-Dury plots of Corton-Charlemagne

The original Coche-Dury plot was rented from either 1985 or 1986. The first vintage produced was 1986.

The plots are located in the very core of the Corton-Charlemagne vineyard, just below the cross in the climat Le Charlemagne (see map below).

Tasting Notes for this producer

• J.-F. Coche Dury Meursault 2007 January 14, 2019
• Domaine Coche-Dury, Meursault 1999 January 2, 2018
• Domaine Coche-Dury, Meursault 2014 April 6, 2017
• Domaine Coche-Dury, Meursault 2006 January 20, 2017
• Domaine Coche-Dury, Meursault Les Genevrieres 2012 March 28, 2016
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault Les Perrieres 2009 February 6, 2016
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault Les Chevalieres 1996 February 6, 2016
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault Les Rougeots 1992 February 6, 2016
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault 2011 April 1, 2015
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault 2011 November 26, 2014
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Corton-Charlemagne 1993 September 23, 2014
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault 2011 December 14, 2013
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault Les Rougeots 2004 March 25, 2013
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault 2008 November 1, 2012
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault 2000 July 7, 2012
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Auxey Duresses 2008 July 5, 2012
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault 2009 June 14, 2012
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault 2007 April 23, 2012
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault 1999 February 5, 2012
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault Perrieres 2008 January 26, 2012
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault Perrieres 1996 January 24, 2012
• J.-F. Coche-Dury, Meursault 2008 January 14, 2012
• J.-F. Coche Dury, Meursault 2009 October 17, 2011
• J.-F. Coche Dury, Meursault 2004 October 16, 2011
• J.-F. Coche Dury Meursault 2008 June 1, 2011

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