FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard is one of Burgundyâs defining independent voices: a producer who came to wine from outside the usual family-domaine system, learned the region vineyard by vineyard as a broker, and then built a reputation on uncompromising farming, native-yeast fermentations, whole clusters, and wines bottled without added sulfur. The bottles now available at Symbolic Wines show the full reach of his workâfrom Volnay, Chambolle-Musigny, and Morey-Saint-Denis to Morgon, the southern RhĂŽne, and Juraâwithout losing the unmistakable thread of his style: purity of fruit, tactile detail, and a willingness to let a wine retain its edges.
From dairy farming to Saint-Romain
Cossard did not inherit a famous CĂŽte dâOr estate. He came to Burgundy from a dairy-farming background and spent around a decade working as a wine broker, tasting widely and developing an unusually intimate understanding of growers, sites, and vintages before establishing his own domaine.
In 1996, he founded Domaine de Chassorney in Saint-Romain, on the western side of the CĂŽte de Beaune. The estate was built gradually from rented and acquired parcels, at first in Saint-Romain and Auxey-Duresses, then across a wider range of Burgundian appellations. His subsequent nĂ©gociant project under the FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard name allowed him to work with fruit from exceptional sites beyond the domaineâs original holdings.
Since the 2022 vintage, Cossard has transferred Domaine de Chassorney to Aurélien Verdet in order to focus on the Frédéric Cossard négoce project. That distinction matters for collectors: earlier bottles under the Domaine de Chassorney label, including several wines in our current selection, represent the original Saint-Romain estate chapter; the Frédéric Cossard wines continue his broader work with trusted growers across Burgundy, Beaujolais, Jura, and the RhÎne.
The philosophy: low intervention, very high attention
Cossardâs reputation is often simplified into ânatural Burgundy,â which is true but incomplete. The more useful point is that his wines are not made casually. They are made with a very strict sequence of decisions.
The vineyards are farmed organically or biodynamically according to Cossardâs standards, without synthetic herbicides or chemical fertilizers. Harvesting is manual. Fermentation is spontaneous, using native yeasts rather than commercial cultures. Sulfur is not added during vinification, and the wines are typically bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without added SOâ.
For reds, whole-cluster fermentation is a core part of the style. Grapes can macerate for several weeks in open wooden vats without temperature control, with malolactic fermentation taking place on the skins. Whites are generally pressed directly and ferment slowly, often in barrel, without bùtonnage. Depending on the cuvée, aging can take place in old oak, concrete eggs, clay vessels, or Georgian qvevri.
This is not a method designed to make wine easier. It creates risk. But with very clean fruit, precise observation, and enough patience, it can produce wines that feel remarkably alive: not glossy, not smoothed out, but still coherent and controlled.
Volnay 2022: the civilized side of Cossard
The 2022 FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard Domaine de Chassorney Volnay offers a particularly attractive meeting point between Cossardâs natural sensibility and the refined identity of Volnay. Pinot Noir from Volnay should never be measured by sheer darkness or density. Its real strength lies in perfume, texture, and the ability to suggest depth without making a public display of it.
Expect an aromatic profile moving through red cherry, wild strawberry, rose petal, dried raspberry, and gentle spice, with a quieter earthy note beneath the fruit. Cossardâs whole-cluster handling can add lift and a subtle savory edge, while the absence of added sulfur keeps the fruit unusually direct.
On the palate, the wine should feel graceful rather than fragile. Fine tannins, bright acidity, and a lightly saline finish create the sort of tension that makes Volnay so satisfying at the table. This is not the polished, heavily framed version of Volnay one might expect from a more conventional cellar. It is more transparent and a little more exposedâbut that is also where the appeal lies.
Morey-Saint-Denis Les Champs de la Vigne 2020: Pinot Fin in qvevri
The 2020 Frédéric Cossard Domaine de Chassorney Morey-Saint-Denis Les Champs de la Vigne Qvevris is one of the most intellectually interesting bottles in the selection. It comes from a parcel of approximately 60-year-old Pinot Fin, a prized, fine-berried Pinot Noir selection, and is raised in qvevri rather than relying only on conventional oak barrels.
Qvevri are not an aesthetic accessory in Cossardâs work. He uses them to refine texture and preserve fruit clarity without layering on additional oak flavor. The result is a Morey-Saint-Denis that should feel less dressed up than many examples from the appellation, but not less serious.
The nose typically opens with dark cherry, raspberry, dried rose, black tea, woodland spice, and a mineral, lightly ferrous undertow. The palate has Moreyâs natural sense of structure, but the qvevri Ă©levage gives it a more tactile, almost mineral-sculpted feel. There is depth without weight, and the whole-cluster element brings aromatic tension rather than overt stemminess.
For anyone who thinks natural wine has to mean rusticity, this is a useful corrective. The wine can be unconventional in method while remaining unmistakably CĂŽte de Nuits in temperament.
Chambolle-Musigny Les Herbues 2021: perfume before power
The 2021 FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard Domaine de Chassorney Chambolle-Musigny Les Herbues sits at the more fragrant end of the Cossard spectrum. Chambolle-Musigny is one of Burgundyâs most admired Pinot Noir villages precisely because it can give such finesse, floral detail, and silkiness when the fruit is handled without excess.
The 2021 vintage, with its naturally fresher profile, suits that identity. Expect redcurrant, sour cherry, cranberry, violet, peony, and dried herbs, with finely integrated whole-cluster spice. The wine should feel light on its feet, but that does not mean it lacks seriousness. Its structure is woven through acidity, perfume, and subtle tannin rather than broad extraction.
This is the sort of red that asks for the right glass and a little patience rather than a long decant and a dramatic speech. It will appeal to drinkers who value nuance over volume and understand that the most memorable Pinot Noir is often the wine that refuses to explain itself all at once.
Morgon CĂŽte du Py Les En Hauts 2021: Gamay with granite underneath
The 2021 FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard Morgon CĂŽte du Py Les En Hauts comes from a collaboration between Cossard and Damien Coquelet, sourced from a 50-year-old Gamay parcel on weathered granite in Morgonâs celebrated CĂŽte du Py lieu-dit.
The vinification is clearly Cossard in spirit: whole-cluster fermentation for approximately fifteen days, followed by a short Ă©levage in concrete eggs, with no additives or added sulfur. Concrete gives the wine space to develop without introducing a woody overlay, which is especially useful when the goal is to let CĂŽte du Pyâs rocky, earthy character stay visible.
In the glass, this is not innocent, candy-colored Beaujolais. The fruit is more serious: cherries, raspberries, lingonberries and darker berry tones, followed by violet, dusty earth, bitter orange, gentle spice and crushed-rock minerality. The palate combines ripe, generous fruit with tangible acidity and a light tannic framework.
It is a Morgon that shows why CĂŽte du Py has become so important to serious wine drinkers. Gamay can be joyful, certainlyâbut here it also has depth, tension, and a granite-driven seriousness that makes it more than a casual pour.
Fleurie 2022: Gamay with perfume, granite, and a little restraint
The 2022 FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard Fleurie shows a more fragrant and fine-boned side of Cossardâs work in Beaujolais. It is made from 100% Gamay grown on Fleurieâs granitic soils, where the combination of the grape and the site can produce wines defined less by weight than by perfume, freshness, and a certain deceptively gentle structure.
The fruit is hand-harvested and vinified as whole clusters through approximately 15 days of carbonic maceration, then aged for around a year in concrete eggs. The use of concrete is particularly well suited to this wine: it gives the fruit room to settle and gain texture while avoiding the woody imprint that can easily overwhelm Fleurieâs floral character. As with Cossardâs other wines, it is made naturally, without added sulfur.
In the glass, expect a bright, transparent red with aromas of raspberry, sour cherry, wild strawberry, violet, and a quiet peppery note. The palate is juicy and finely drawn, carrying the freshness of red berries alongside soft tannins, a mineral line from the granite soils, and a lightly savory finish. It has enough energy to be enjoyed lightly chilled, yet enough shape to prove that Fleurie is not simply a pretty wine.
The 2022 vintage adds a little more generosity than a cooler year would, but Cossardâs handling keeps the wine focused. It is the kind of bottle that can look almost effortless next to more formal Burgundy, then quietly disappear before anyone has had time to call it âjust Beaujolais.â
Bourgogne Rouge Bedeau Qvevris 2020: Pinot Noir, reshaped
The 2020 FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard Domaine de Chassorney Bourgogne Rouge Bedeau Qvevris is a vivid example of how Cossard uses vessel choice to change texture without obscuring origin. âBedeauâ means âthe one who accompanies,â which is fitting: this is a Burgundy meant to be present, generous, and highly drinkable, rather than ceremonious.
The 2020 version is raised in concrete eggs, despite the Qvevris designation associated with Cossardâs broader experimentation with alternative vessels. Fruit for Bedeau has historically come from a mix of Burgundy parcels, including Volnay and, in the 2020 vintage, old vines in Nuits-Saint-Georges. The wine is made from Pinot Noir, with whole-cluster fermentation and no added sulfur.
The style is energetic and lightly wild, but it is not shapeless. Expect bright red cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, rose, dried herbs, and a savory undertone, with a slightly darker, firmer note from the Nuits-Saint-Georges component. The palate is medium-bodied, with lively acidity, gently grainy tannins, and a clean, savory finish.
This is not a miniature version of a Grand Cru. It is something more useful: a bottle that makes Burgundy feel immediate and alive without becoming simplistic.
Bourgogne Rouge Bedeau 2021: the more transparent sibling
The 2021 FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard Domaine de Chassorney Bourgogne Rouge Bedeau is the more classically framed counterpart to the 2020 Qvevris bottling. The cooler 2021 vintage naturally emphasizes freshness, aromatic definition, and lighter structure, which suits Cossardâs preference for whole-cluster perfume and graceful extraction.
Expect crunchy red cherry, cranberry, wild strawberry, rose petal, pepper and a small note of forest floor. The palate is lithe rather than broad, with precise acidity and tannins that feel fine but present. It is the sort of Pinot Noir that does not need to announce its seriousness through density.
Tasted beside the 2020 Bedeau Qvevris, the contrast is instructive. The 2020 has more warmth, more shape, and a broader mid-palate. The 2021 is more lifted, more linear, and perhaps more immediately revealing of the fresh side of Cossardâs house style.
Version Sud 2021 and 2022: Grenache without the weight
Cossardâs Version Sud proves that his philosophy can travel beyond Burgundy without losing its identity. This Vin de France is made from Grenache sourced in the southern RhĂŽne, yet it avoids the dense, high-alcohol image many drinkers associate with the grape.
The 2021 Version Sud is likely to be the more savory and restrained of the two vintages, with red cherry, raspberry, dried herbs, pepper, garrigue, and a gentle earthiness. The palate should be fresh, medium-bodied, and driven by red fruit rather than sweetness. It is Grenache seen through a Burgundian preference for tension and transparency.
The 2022 Version Sud has the potential to show a rounder, sunnier profile: ripe strawberry, cherry, plum skin, wild Mediterranean herbs and spice. But the intention remains the sameâpurity and drinkability rather than mass. Cossard does not use the south to make a blockbuster; he uses it to show that Grenache can have perfume, energy, and detail when it is not buried under extraction or oak.
Together, the two vintages make a compelling pair. The 2021 is the cooler, more restrained and more herbal expression. The 2022 is likely the more generous, fruit-forward and open expression. Both are bottles for grilled lamb, charred vegetables, Mediterranean cooking, or a long table where one bottle is unlikely to be enough.
Zapoi 2021: a wine that refuses easy categories
The 2021 FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard Les En Hauts Vin de France Zapoi belongs to the part of the range where Cossard gives himself the most freedom. âLes En Hautsâ is his project with Damien Coquelet, and Zapoi is deliberately bottled as Vin de France rather than asking the label to do all the explanatory work.
This is the kind of wine that should be approached with curiosity rather than a fixed expectation. Cossardâs Vin de France bottlings are often about fruit source, vessel, texture, and the decision to work outside conventional appellation boundaries. The result can sit somewhere between familiar and unfamiliar: naturally made, aromatic, lightly untamed, but still shaped by an experienced Burgundian palate.
The useful way to drink Zapoi is not to demand that it resemble a textbook category. It is better treated as an invitation to notice balance, fruit integrity, freshness, and the way low-intervention winemaking can preserve a wineâs more unusual details. This is a bottle for drinkers who do not need every wine to arrive with a map.
Ploussard 2022: Jura delicacy through a Burgundian lens
The 2022 Frédéric Cossard Vin de France Ploussard comes from old Ploussard vines in Sainte-AgnÚs, in the Arbois sector of Jura. The soils are limestone and clay, and the wine is handled with whole clusters before spending around six months in concrete eggs. It is bottled without additives or added sulfur.
Ploussard is one of Juraâs most distinctive grapes. It often gives pale color, delicate structure, bright acidity, and a fragrant profile that can look almost too transparent to be seriousâuntil you taste it. Cossardâs version should show wild strawberry, redcurrant, sour cherry, rose, dried leaves, pepper, and a lightly earthy mineral note.
The palate is fine-boned and vivid rather than dense. Tannin is modest but present, acidity is essential, and the wineâs charm lies in its ability to feel both fragile and complete. It is not a substitute for Pinot Noir, and it should not be treated as one. Its appeal is precisely that it speaks in another register: pale, savory, brisk, and quietly captivating.
Serve it lightly chilled. Pair it with charcuterie, poultry, mushrooms, pork, or anything with enough delicacy not to drown it out. For Jura lovers, it is a natural fit. For Burgundy drinkers, it is a reminder that subtlety can be every bit as serious as power.
What unites the Symbolic Wines selection
The Frédéric Cossard wines currently available at Symbolic Wines cover a remarkable range of grapes and regions, but they remain connected by a clear set of principles:
- CĂŽte dâOr finesse: Volnay 2022, Chambolle-Musigny Les Herbues 2021, and Morey-Saint-Denis Les Champs de la Vigne Qvevris 2020 show three separate Pinot Noir personalitiesâgraceful, perfumed, and structuredâwithout relying on excessive extraction or polish.
- Vessel as a winemaking tool: Qvevri and concrete eggs are used to shape texture and protect fruit expression, not to create novelty for its own sake. Bedeau Qvevris 2020 and Morey-Saint-Denis Les Champs de la Vigne 2020 are particularly revealing examples.
- A broader Burgundy mindset: Morgon CĂŽte du Py Les En Hauts 2021, Version Sud 2021 and 2022, and Ploussard 2022 show Cossard applying the same preference for freshness, whole fruit and balance to Gamay, Grenache and Juraâs Ploussard.
- Wine before category: Zapoi 2021 represents the freedom of Vin de Franceâa wine that does not ask permission from an appellation hierarchy before being interesting.
A sommelierâs view
FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard matters because his wines are neither merely ânaturalâ nor merely âBurgundian.â They sit in the space between those categories and make both feel bigger. There is real technique here, but it is not displayed through immaculate surfaces. There is terroir, but it is not turned into a slogan. And there is a clear sense of quality, even when the wines are deliberately more relaxed, lighter or less conventional than the usual fine-wine hierarchy demands.
For collectors, the Morey-Saint-Denis Les Champs de la Vigne 2020, Chambolle-Musigny Les Herbues 2021 and Volnay 2022 are the obvious CĂŽte dâOr reference points. For adventurous drinkers, Ploussard 2022, Zapoi 2021 and the two Bedeau bottlings make the more revealing introduction to Cossardâs free-thinking side. For anyone who wants to see how Gamay and Grenache behave when treated with the same attention usually reserved for Pinot Noir, Morgon CĂŽte du Py Les En Hauts and Version Sud are particularly persuasive.
These wines are not designed to flatter every palate on the first sip. But for drinkers who value energy over makeup, texture over formula and personality over smooth consensus, Cossard remains one of the most rewarding names to follow.
Sources: FrĂ©dĂ©ric Cossard, Domaine de Chassorney, The Source Imports, Barberry Garden, Tutto Wines, Lieu-Dit, Loofok Wines, Geraldineâs, Symbolic Wines
