Château Grange Cochard
Sarah and James Wilding took over the domaine in 2008. Together with their children Tom and Ellie the whole family is involved in the production and selling of Chateau Grange Cochard wines around the world.
In their search for the right property, Sarah and James loved the beauty and charm of the Beaujolais hills, but most of all they chose Morgon because of the potential to produce high quality fine red wine. On account of its history, Chateau Grange Cochard owns some of the finest parcelles of vines in the Morgon appellation, but due to the illness of the previous owner had fallen into disrepair.
They have invested in new equipment and have reintroduced many of the traditional processes in the vineyard and the winery, which in recent decades, due to the cost and time required, have been disappearing. The family is enthusiastic and passionate about the wines they produce, and continue to strive for higher and higher quality in order to achieve the very best results.
History
The hamlet of La Grange Cochard is a historic and ancient place. The little lane outside the Chateau is a Roman road which thousands of years ago was an important highway from the south up towards Paris. Cargo would be brought up the rivers Rhone and Saone, taken out and brought along our road over the hills to find the north-flowing Loire to proceed towards Paris.
In medieval times this lane formed part of a protected route controlled by the Knights Templar. The Chateau was built on the site of one of the staging posts owned by that order, and so parts of the cellars are significantly older than the present house.
Vines have been grown outside the Chateau for centuries and by the 1930s the vineyard’s wines were gaining nationwide acclaim, and had become regular medal winners at the Paris Concours.
The Estate
The estate consists of 6 hectares of vines, in the appellation of Morgon, including 1.5 hectares on the renowned old volcano of Côte du Py, all within a few hundred metres of the chateau. Most of the vines are between 40 and 100 years old. Their age results in low yields with intense small berries supplying complex structure, discreet tannins, and dark fruit flavours.
Chateau Grange Cochard is committed to sustainable viticulture, following a policy of minimum intervention with increased use of natural farming methods to nourish the soil and maintain a healthy and balanced eco-system. Grass is planted between rows of vines, which reduces erosion and naturally restricts weed growth. No insecticides or pesticides are applied and no artificial irrigation systems are used.
Winemaking
At harvest, the grapes are picked exclusively by hand into small boxes. On arrival at the Chateau each bunch is checked again manually using a vibrating triage table to ensure only the best grapes enter the fermentation vats.
Each area of vines is vinified separately, carefully considering its particular needs and characteristics. Whilst many Morgons are vinified quickly, we favour slower, cooler fermentations, which allow the true character of the terroir to emerge gently and calmly. After vinification, our wines are matured in our own vaulted cellars on site, in large old oak "foudres", new oak barrels, or tanks. Bottling and labelling is also carried out at the Chateau at the optimal time of maturation of the wines depending on the wine and the year (normally 9 - 12 months); we only use natural corks.
The Wines
All the red wines are made from the ‘gamay noir à jus blanc’ grape, which is best suited to the granite terroir of Morgon. The great majority of the vines are over 40 years old although many have been growing for almost a century.
MorgonVieillesVignes
Classic Morgoncuvée, elegant and fresh, full of red fruit flavours with underlying hints of pepper and silky tannins. This wine is matured in old, 3000 litre oak foudres, which allow the wine to soften and fully integrate the fruits and tannins.
Morgon Les Charmes
This cuvée is made from some venerable vines in the climat of Les Charmes on soft pink granite. This lends floral notes to the wine with the mature vines giving rich fruit concentration in the mouth. It is matured in 3 - 4 year old French oak barrels and the fruit flavours are supported by subtle hints of vanilla and toast.
Morgon Côte du Py
The flagship wine is from grapes grown on the most renowned terroir of Morgon; these lie on the slopes of crushed blue granite of the ancient volcano . This land gives the wine an intense underlying structure with brilliant dark fruit notes and long length in the mouth. The wine will continue to develop in the cellar for many years.